


Starfire

by ribbonsofreilin (reiriegan)



Series: Emotions as Stars [1]
Category: Tales of Zestiria, Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Abyss characters in Zestiria world, Asch spends most of the fic in spirit, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Established Relationship, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon, Seraphim, Tales skits, The Abyss cast goes on a shepherd's journey and all the chaos that comes with it, This is Glenwood over 5 centuries later so there's bound to be a lot of changes, Van is a dick, characterization may vary slightly due to the change in background and customs in this world, hints of pairings everywhere
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2020-03-01 09:25:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18797557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reiriegan/pseuds/ribbonsofreilin
Summary: Luke and Asch are fire seraphs peacefully co-existing in a human settlement until one day they are visited by Van Grants who turns their idyllic life upside down. Now Asch is in a coma while Luke sets out with his human friend, Guy, on a shepherd pilgrimage to save him, and on the way they find themselves unearthing a dangerous plot against the seraphim.





	1. Malevolent Intent

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I wrote this story a long time ago and... well, I haven't had much confidence to actually post it (also the Tales fandom in general is small in the west, it honestly feels almost obscure over here and it sucks). Let me know what you think and of course with most of my type of stories, there's always something more going on than what it seems. So here we go!
> 
> (and yes, there are Tales-tradition skits included!)

[Lohengrin, Town of Coexistence]

“Luke.”

“Luke?”

“Luke!” _LUKE!_

He sat up with a start, hearing the sound of his name ringing in his head.

“What?” He yelled back into the empty room.

The voice got louder through the doorway. “Luke, were you sleeping again?”

Luke rubbed his head sheepishly, “umm no?”

“Master closed his eyes for a while,” a high pitched squeak came from the blue normin. Luke bopped him on the head, “Mieu you traitor!”

“The only person he’s betraying is me, Luke. He let you sleep when I said you should be practicing.”

Luke pouted, “I was, Asch. Quit nagging about it.”

Asch huffed and crossed his arms, “I’m not nagging. Why were you sleeping anyways? You know we don’t need to do that."

Luke shrugged in response, “I guess I got into the habit when I’m feeling tired.”

“You’ve been hanging out with Guy too much,” said Asch with a tinge of annoyance, “and speaking of blondie, he’s been waiting for you in the courtyard.”

Luke’s face lit up, “I forgot that he has more free time since Pere is still away.”

“He comes over here too often,” Asch mutters before walking away. “I’m heading to the shrine to speak with Natalia. Watch over Luke okay Mieu?”

“I will Master Asch!” Mieu chirps.

“Stop worrying about us and go see your girlfriend already,” said Luke, hurrying past the front door and heading for the yard in the back.

“She is not my girlfriend!” Asch yelled, his face turning red. A door slam could be heard from behind, and Luke turns away with a small smile tugging at his lips.

After he heard Asch leave their compound, Luke sees Guy standing by the bench in the yard. He waved at the blond enthusiastically.

“Guy! I’m glad you’re here, I was getting so bored.”

 

* * *

Asch closed the door to the compound that he and Luke resided in with a faint smile. He could already hear the murmurs of Luke and Guy talking to each other over the fortified walls, punctuated occasionally by Mieu’s squeaks.

Lohengrin was a small town but a quickly growing one as more and more humans and seraphim settled in over many years. Asch and Luke never lived in a place with so many humans before but to their surprise, they quickly adapted well to it. Luke became friends with the humans living near them while Asch preferred to manage their living arrangements or hang out in the town core instead.

It was a good decision for both of them to settle down in Lohengrin, Asch thought, because Luke seemed happy to be here.

_I know you’re still sulking outside the door. Go away already!_

Asch smirked, shut the mental channel that connected him with Luke and walked down the cobblestone street towards the center of town. He was used to his brother’s brusque attitude; they had similar temperaments and a long history of sibling rivalry after all.

For visitors coming to the town of Lohengrin, the layout and navigation was easy to figure out: a straight line to the center square. Visitors often stop to take a moment and stare at the colourful cobblestone buildings of residences and stores that line the streets of the main areas. In the back of the town was a vast space adapted to seraphim needs: open fields and sparse hallways. Each settlement has its own designated brick road built in neatly line roads, guided by powerful earth seraphs, which lead back into town. Lohengrin had an earthy feel to it, being situated in the middle of the desert, and was protected from the harsher elements by thick surrounding walls built to endure.

The largest buildings in the town were built to house the shrine of the seraph who presided over the town, and the Administration Building. This last building was Asch’s destination and as he approached its front door, it burst open.

“Asch! It’s terrible!” A blond seraph shouted, flying out the door with a panicked look in her eyes.

“Natalia, what’s going on?” Asch asked in alarm. Natalia is usually very calm and composed, and never once has he heard her panic like this.

“There’s something wrong with Lord Ion! We are supposed to have really important visitors today, and he just… I think he might be sick.” Natalia said in a rush.

Asch furrowed his brows, “Did you forget that seraphs don’t get sick? We don’t… unless…”

Natalia immediately caught on and gasped, “Are you saying…?”

“Take me to Ion,” said Asch. “I need to see this for myself, and where is Anise?”

Natalia lead Asch towards the building that hosted the shrine, “She hasn’t left his bedside. Lord Ion collapsed suddenly this morning, Anise moved him back inside, and he hasn’t gotten up since.”

It added to his suspicions and he confirmed them when they finally entered Ion’s quarters and he saw the state of the Seraph Lord. It was like a dark cloud hanging over them, and tendrils of darkness rose in and out of Ion’s body. His breathing was shallow and there were bags under his eyes.

“M-Mr. Asch,” Anise exclaimed, getting up from nearby stool, worry painted all over her face. “I don’t- Lord Ion is…”

“Anise, you studied as an acolyte in Pendrago, you’re Ion’s guardian, and you have never seen malevolence-induced sickness?”

Anise’s jaw dropped, “…no? The malevolence in Rolance was never too strong, and there hasn’t been anything here either.”

Asch sighed, and decided to cut the clueless shrine guardian some slack. There was definitely malevolence in the huge city of Rolance’s capital but likely, Anise had never been anywhere but the shrinechurch. “I can feel the malevolence hanging over him. Can’t you, Natalia?”

“You mean this heavy pressure I’m feeling on my chest?” Natalia said, looking contemplative. “It’s… yes I can feel some pain when I get near, but why is it only affecting Lord Ion?”

Natalia raised a good point, and Asch suddenly felt a rising unease as he realized what kind of predicament they’re in.

“Because it came from somewhere outside and is invading Ion’s domain!” 

_Luke! Luke! Answer me, Luke!_

 

* * *

“Come on, let’s go again!"

“Alright, back in starting position then and let’s do this from the top.”

Guy charged at Luke with his sword raised, and the sound of the clash was muffled by the wooden blades. They exchanged swings, stepped back and forth against each other in synchronized steps with every turn of their ‘blades’ before pulling back.

“Luke, your swing keeps staying too high.” said Guy.

“I know,” Luke replied, “but if I go low, you swing at my head!”

“Because your shoulders are too tense so you can’t dodge as quickly.”

Luke huffed, “okay, let’s go again.”

Guy stretched his arms, loosening his shoulders. “Can I ask again why is it that you want to learn how to use a sword, Luke? Can’t you just cast your seraphic artes?”

Luke rotated his arms, groaning. “Yeah, normally Asch and I use paper as a medium for our fire.”

“Then aren’t you practicing with that instead?”

“We found some really cool swords a few decades ago and have been holding onto them for protection, or at least Asch says we should.” Luke said, “But I also wanted to learn how to use them.”

Guy frowned, “I remember from my studies that seraphs generally channel their mediums into a catalyst that their own element is stronger over because it’s easier. Was it made out of iron or something?”

“Yeah,” said Luke. “When I first tried, it was terrible. It felt like all my energy got blocked by something when I held that sword.”

Guy looked over at their training swords thoughtfully.

The sound of a bell chimed throughout the compound. Luke left his friend to go get the door.

“Master Van!” Luke exclaimed upon seeing the visitor. “I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here?”

“I was in the area to see Lord Ion, so I thought I would drop by here first.” Van said with a smile. “May I come in? Is Asch around?”

Luke made a face, “No, he’s at the Administrator’s today. Something about special guests coming. That’s not you?”

“I haven’t informed anyone that I was coming.” Van shook his head. He stepped into the compound and looked around at the sparse furniture.

“I’m glad you’re here then, cause I-“

_Luke! Luke! Answer me, Luke!_

_What? I’m busy, Asch._

_Yeah, stop playing around with Guy. We have a serious problem._

_Natalia said no?_

_Said no to what? No, wait, dammit, Luke. Ion is sick!_

_Seraphim don’t get sick, Asch, you told me that yourself. Now, I’m busy. Master Van is here!_

_Van? Wait, he’s here?_

_Yeah, now leave me alone._

_No, I’m coming over. Now._

_Why?_

No response.

“Luke?” Van asked, concerned. “Is everything alright?”

Luke shook his head, “I’m fine. Can you help with my sword training?”

“Certainly, but I wanted to talk to you first. Do you have a moment?”

Luke pointed at himself in surprise, “Me? You want to talk to me?"

“Yes. Luke, I wanted to ask you if you would come with me. Join me.”

“Join you?”

“Yes.”

“You mean you became a shepherd?" 

“No, I’m not a shepherd. And I am not going to have you fight for me. I’m asking you to accompany me on a journey to find the truth,” said Van.

Luke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “the truth about what?”

“The seraphim’s truth,” Van answered, “their true nature. Together, we will discover the true nature of the seraphim but I will need your help.”

“If I can help you, Master Van, then just tell me what I can do,” said Luke, trying to grasp at what Van was saying. “But I don’t really understand what you’re talking about and I can’t just up and leave Asch behind.”

 

* * *

“Excuse me.”

Asch speed walked down the street, a feeling of foreboding niggled at his mind. 

“Excuse me?" 

“What?” Asch barked, turning around. “I have to go.”

A woman stood in the middle of the cobblestone street with a short staff clutched in his hands. She peered at him through one eye while the other was covered by her long bangs.

“I am looking for someone named Van,” she said.

“Well you’re in luck,” said Asch sourly. “He’s visiting my little brother and I have to be there right now.”

He took off down the street to make up for the delay, not even looking back to check if the unknown woman followed him. Asch burst through the front door of their compound.

“Van!” He roared, “What did you do to Lord Ion?” 

Asch turned the corner of the house and quickly caught sight of Van’s back that was forming a dark ball in his hand.

Luke waved at him, not noticing that Van’s hand was alarmingly close to him. “Hey Asch, Master Van is here and wants us-“

Asch instinctively leaped into action. He was not sure what Van was doing but the black orb felt dangerous and he wasn’t about to let that come anywhere near his little brother. He lunged forward just as the woman who followed him rounded the corner as well, her eyes wide in shock.

Then, several things happened at once.

Van swung his arm to throw the ominous dark ball at Luke while also beginning to form another in his other hand.

“Get out of the way! LUKE!” Asch screamed wildly, lunging forward and pushing Luke aside.

Luke fell to his side and looked up in time to see something thrown from Van’s hand hitting Asch. To his horror, the object was emitting an ill-feeling black energy and it sank into Asch’s navel, disappearing inside. His brother’s eyes closed and he immediately slumped over onto the ground.

A woman was at the door and the moment she saw the scene, she yelled out, “Van! What in the name of Musiphe are you doing?”

“Tear… I knew it.” Van muttered, the second ball in his hand dissipated and he ran off.

“Van!” The woman, Tear, made to follow him before a sudden pained noise stopped her.

Luke was tugging at Asch’s shoulders and making distressing sounds as he called for Asch to wake up.

“Asch? What are you doing? Get up!”

Luke turned Asch over onto his back, “what did Master Van do? Come on, you said yourself that seraphim don’t need sleep! Open your eyes! Asch?”

Tear stared at the red-haired seraph sprawled out on the floor, seeing the black tendrils leaking all over him and she quickly grabbed the other one’s arm to pull him back. She ignored the back of her mind that was alarmed about the fact that the red-headed seraphs looked eerily similar to each other. That was something to ponder later after; she had to clean up the mess that Van left behind.

“Let me go!” Luke yelped, trying to wrench himself free from Tear’s grip to get back to Asch’s side.

“Luke, I heard yelling, what’s going on?” A blond male entered from an entrance in the back, followed by a small blue normin. They both took the scene in front of them with shock. 

“Master Asch?” The normin flew forward in a rush to Luke’s side, staring at Asch’s motionless body.

“Guy!” Luke cried to the blond, “He won’t wake up! Why won’t he wake up?”

“Luke, you have to stay back,” The blond said as calmly as he could. “Asch, he’s… I can see the malevolence.”

Luke stopped struggling and Tear started struggling to keep her grip as he sagged down, “he’s… he’s been tainted? Guy, is-is he going to turn into a hellion?”

Before the other human could find an answer to that, a new voice drifted over.

“Did someone say hellion?”

Luke lifted his head up and did a double take. There were two unfamiliar silhouettes at the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #001: In a Panic
> 
> Luke: Asch…? Asch? ASCH?
> 
> No answer.
> 
> Luke: Maybe he can hear me if I call his mind.
> 
> Luke: Asch? ASCH!
> 
> No answer.


	2. In Sickness and Health

[The Twin Seraphs’ Compound, Lohengrin]

 

Asch and Luke moved into Lohengrin five years ago. Guy has known them since the beginning of the fire twins’ tenure.

He always enjoyed visiting the compound the twins resided in with every free moment he got from his studies. He and Asch only get along as acquaintances but Luke took a shine to him, always following around and asking about his life and his duties as an apprentice to Pere. Luke always had time to spend as a seemingly free-spirited seraph, and it was Asch who was always out and busy.

When Guy woke up this morning, he was looking forward to a relaxed day off. With his mentor, the Shepherd Pere, on a trip to Pendrago for town negotiations, Guy only had to perform the daily duties before he could spend his free time however he wanted.

He never expected his day to turn out like this: Asch on the floor, still and unresponsive, Luke on the verge of a heartbreak, and malevolence tinging the air. There was also an unknown woman standing in the middle of the room, preventing Luke from reaching Asch. She must also be a member of the clergy if she recognized the signs of malevolence-induced sickness that settled around Asch’s body.

Luke desperately asked Guy if Asch was going to turn into a hellion and Guy worried how Luke would take it if he answered positive, when an unfamiliar voice interrupted them.

“Did someone say hellion?”

With a mixture of guilty relief and confusion, Guy whirled to the door to see who had said that and to hope that they were friendly.

There were two silhouettes at Luke’s front door and he immediately identified them as being seraphs.

Guy has met many of the seraphim in his life living at Lohengrin, and while he was aware of a certain ethereal quality that they all possess, he had always had a certain admiration for the beauty of the fire seraph twins. However, the two who entered the compound seemed to radiate with a jaw dropping timeless grace that was a step above the rest of them.

The first seraph walking through was dressed in an icy white tunic that was trimmed with rounded aqua blue edges and regal patterns. He had tresses of wavy pale blue hair pulled into a high ponytail framing mature intelligent violet eyes. In his hand, he held a long intricately decorated and carved out metal staff. Around his back were multiple layers of teal-coloured traditional seraphim capelets that flowed around and down his back.

The second seraph was the one who spoke earlier, and he walked in behind his companion. His long ash-blond hair was bound into an extremely long ponytail that was tied and decorated in large orange feathers. Orange feathers were also clipped to his ears, and his green eyes were wide and friendly. His seraphic tunic flowed like a cloak in a deep blue and was trimmed in similar golden yellow regal patterns, and around his neck was a beige adventurer’s long scarf.

Even Luke looked momentarily stunned by their appearances. 

“Who… Who are you? What’s going on?” Luke stumbled over his words, utterly bewildered.

The pale blue coloured seraph stopped his stride and then bowed shortly to the group. “I apologize for the intrusion. We were just in the city to visit Ion when we noticed the commotion. My name is Mikleo, and this is my partner Sorey.”

Sorey waved, “Hi! Sorry for barging in, but I sensed malevo-“ He trailed off as soon as he noticed Asch’s prone body. His smile suddenly dropped and he nudged his partner.

“Mikleo, the malevolence…!”

Mikleo nodded, “I know. Just give me a moment.” Mikleo quickly came over and knelt down. His hands came up, a blue light lit up under them, hovered up and down Asch’s body.

Guy watched the two newcomers. He had a niggling feeling in his brain that even though he doesn’t recognize the two seraphim on sight, their names rang a bell. But in his stress, he just couldn’t think of what it was. He glanced over to the unknown female acolyte in the room and she seemed to mirror Guy’s mixed reaction of confusion and a glimpse of recognition. Luke was still kneeling on the floor in confusion and looked ready to question the other seraph’s actions.

Sorey watched his partner intently, “Mikleo?” He asked after a few moments.

The light from Mikleo’s hands faded, and he let out a sigh. It wasn’t a sound of relief.

“It is clear that malevolence is causing this but… it’s not explaining his state. He should’ve turned into a hellion by now, but…”

“But?” Sorey asked cautiously.

“It’s almost like, the malevolence and the seraph… what is his name?”

“Asch,” Guy offered when he saw his friend still dazed.

Mikleo nodded, “The malevolence and Asch’s consciousness are somehow locked inside his body. It’s dormant. They both are dormant.”

Everyone stared at the white clad seraph, stunned by the news.

Mikleo’s face was grim when he stood up.

“It looks like Asch is being funneled with malevolence from somewhere. Sorey, can you check…?”

Sorey sprang into action and knelt down next to Asch to assess the situation himself. Guy understood the implication behind Mikleo’s words: that Asch is steeped in malevolence but it won’t be an immediate danger to any seraphim who gets near him. He nudged Luke to give him the hint that he can also get close to Asch. Luke however, seemed to be stiff, hugging Mieu not out of affection, but rather he seemed to be trying to squeeze the life out of the poor normin.

At the touch from Guy, Luke let go of the Mieu and ran to Asch’s other side immediately, “What are you doing? What’s going to happen to him?”

With a gentle smile and a soft pat on Luke’s shoulder, Sorey said, “I have the ability to sense malevolence on a deeper scale than most so Mikleo usually goes first just in case. But I think we should be okay here. You care about him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, he’s my brother!” Luke said defensively. His indignant tone lost its edge when he lifted his head came face to face with the serene grace of the other seraph. Green eyes so similar in colour yet completely different from his own glimmered back at him.

Luke has encountered seraphs with strong blessed domains before, but this one seemed to be at a whole other level. In Sorey’s eyes he looked for any hints of insincerity or of mockery. He found none of that. He found an unusually strong level of comfort and reassurance he doesn’t usually find from a complete stranger. Luke relaxed and a moment of understanding passed between them.

“I understand,” Sorey replied back patiently. “Let me see if I can find the problem.” He put his hands just above Asch’s body and this time his hands lit up in a gentle white-yellow glow.

The woman suddenly sucked in a gasp of realization, “Lord Mikleo! She blurted out. “You two are… Grand Seraph Mikleo and Grand Seraph Sorey! I cannot believe... I apologize for not recognizing you sooner!”

It made sense. Guy’s niggling feeling that he was missing something important suddenly fell into place. He knew those names, and he can bet that as sheltered as Luke was, he has probably heard of their names as well. At the moment, the fire seraph was too preoccupied with Asch’s predicament and ignoring everything around him.

Mikleo smiled at the two humans sheepishly and made another little bow, “That’s us, and you are…?”

“Ah! I’m sorry! My name is Tear Grants. I am a soldier in training at the Pendrago Shrinechurch,” Tear said, face colouring in embarrassment.

Mikleo nodded and then turned to Guy, “and you?”

“My name is Guy. I apprentice for Shepherd Pere,” said Guy.

“Guy? I think I’ve heard Pere mention your name before. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” said Mikleo, reaching over to shake hands. “Please don’t bother Sorey right now, he needs to concentrate but can either of you tell me what’s happened?”

“I was in the yard and heard Luke… that’s Luke by the way,” Guy said, gesturing to the red head staying next to Sorey before continuing, “I heard yelling and screaming and by the time I got here, Asch was already like that.”

“I can explain what happened,” Tear interjected. “My brother, Van Grants, was here and I saw him form some kind of energy ball and was about to throw it at Luke. Asch pushed him out of the way and the ball hit him.”

“It went in him,” Luke spoke up without looking at them, “I saw it go inside him.”

“Inside?” Mikleo murmured contemplatively. “That explains the sudden spike in malevolence here, and also why it’s only Asch being affected. I can’t speculate though until Sorey can give his assessment.”

Tear said, “If I may ask, what exactly is Lord Sorey doing?”

“Sorey has a unique sort of ability, not exactly a blessing, but it’s something we haven’t told many people about. He can pinpoint malevolence, sense where it’s coming and track where it has been. We were just outside Lohengrin near the compounds and he sensed the malevolence in here,” said Mikleo.

“That is amazing,” said Tear. Guy agreed with her. He had never heard of an ability like that, but he supposed that was to be expected from a legendary seraph such as Sorey.

“Tear, what did that ball of energy look like?” Sorey finally spoke up. He was frowning as the light faded in his hands.

“It was black,” said Tear, “black and purple I suppose. It all went by so fast. And… Van, he formed two of them. I saw another ball in his other hand but he didn’t throw that one at anyone and he ran off when I confronted him.”

“Master Van had a second one?” Luke said in surprise. “And he was aiming for me… why? Why did he do this?”

Silence followed Luke’s statement.

“Tear, I don’t mean to sound rude, but why are you here? Were you here to see Van? He’s your brother right?” Guy finally decided to ask the one thing on his mind.

“I… yes, he is my brother, but I am here on confidential Shrinechurch business.”

Mikleo and Sorey exchanged unreadable glances with each other before Sorey changed the subject, “let me explain what I found when I examined Asch.”

Luke gave the Grand Seraph his immediate attention. 

“When a seraph is exposed to malevolence, it immediately corrupts the core of their being and they turn into a hellion, right?” Sorey started and received nods of agreement from all around the room. “It seems that the malevolence that has been introduced to his body for some reason isn’t spreading. I can sense a ball of tightly controlled malevolence within his body and that is causing the sickness. But because it’s staying in one place, Asch can’t get corrupted… he won’t turn into a hellion.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know how long it will stay like this. The malevolence is harmless and under control when it is condensed but it is some of the strongest I’ve ever sensed as a seraph.”

“So Asch is actually sick,” Luke stated shakily. Then his eyes widened, “Seraphs don’t get sick! I said that to Asch when he told me Ion was sick!”

“Lord Ion is sick?” Guy jumped up, “why didn’t you say something earlier Luke?”

“Hey, I only just found out,” Luke protested.

“If Ion is sick, we need to go see him right away,” said Mikleo. “If this is related to Asch’s condition, we should bring him along and get them both checked over by Sorey.”

They all agreed to the plan. Guy and Tear arranged between them to carry Asch along since the seraphs were reluctant to keep contact with the malevolence within him and Mikleo barred Luke immediately when he tried to volunteer. Mieu watched both his masters with worried eyes but dutifully followed along as the group walked down the thankfully empty street.

Mikleo lead them to a hidden side door that Guy never noticed was there and it even lead to the building where Ion’s quarters were.

“I had this hidden door built in case I wanted to come to Lohengrin for business and didn’t want to disturb the locals,” Mikleo explained.

“Really?” Luke questioned.

“Mikleo thinks of everything,” Sorey said fondly.

In Ion’s room, they found the Seraph Lord collapsed on the bed but not still and unconscious like Asch. His eyes were closed but scrunched up as if he was in pain, and his body trembled.

After a brief moment, Sorey stood up from his inspection of Ion. “Well this is an easier problem to solve,” he said lightly. “Ion’s domain is quite strong but it’s being invaded by a powerful hellion.”

“How powerful?” Mikleo asked.

Sorey frowned and answered, “Powerful enough that I can also speculate its domain is having an influencing effect on Asch too.”

Then where is the hellion?” Luke asked quickly.

Sorey closed his eyes and swung his arm like a ship mast towards the side wall, “it’s on the very edge of Ion’s domain, near Lohgrin Canyon, and it’s moving towards us.”

“You can tell where the hellion is, Lord Sorey?” Tear asked, impressed.

“It’s emitting really strong malevolence so I can detect it easily, but we have to hurry because it’s also on the move,” said Sorey. His eyes were still closed as he tracked the movements of the hellion.

“Guy, when is Shepherd Pere coming back? We need his help to purify the hellion right away, before he gets too close and starts to cause problems,” Mikleo asked.

“He was supposed to leave Pendrago in two days, but I’ll call for him to leave now.” Guys offered. 

Mikleo shook his head, “if he left now, it will still take him at least a day to get here and that’s too long.”

“Then what do we do? He’s the only shepherd we have right now,” Luke yelped.

“Call him and ask him to come,” Mikleo directed. “In the meantime, Sorey and I will go and distract that hellion.”

“What?! It’s risky for humans to be near a dangerous hellion, let alone seraphs who could be easily tainted!” Tear cried out, “You’ll risk turning into hellions yourselves!”

“I’m aware,” said Mikleo calmly, “but we’re the best choice right now until we can get a shepherd here. Sorey and I have a lot of experience between us with fighting hellions.”

“Then at least let me come with you! I may be just an acolyte but I can still fight.”

“I appreciate the offer Tear, but I think it’s best if you stay here to watch over Ion and Asch. We are just going to distract the hellion and direct it away from Lohengrin so we can handle it for now.” The water seraph replied.

“Ion will be up and about before you know it. We can handle this.” Sorey chirped, seemingly unconcerned about going up against a powerful hellion. He patted his hips and everyone suddenly noticed that there was a book and a large scroll rolled up and attached to a belt wrapped around his waist.

“We really have to go to head this hellion off right now. Guy, please call Pere and tell him to go to Lohgrin Canyon.” Mikleo said before waving as they walked off. Guy turned and ran for the nearest office with a phone.

He called the Pendrago shrinechurch and the phone rang over and over, but there was no answer. He tried the shepherd’s office, but no answer came from that either.

“Guy?” Luke’s voice came from the doorway. The red head was leaning against the doorway. If Guy had looked up, he would see an expression he rarely saw on Luke’s face: He looked like he was contemplating something.

“No one is answering the phone,” Guy replied in frustration. “I’m going to try again. We can’t leave this hellion problem to Lord Mikleo and Lord Sorey.”

As Guy went to dial again, Luke stopped him. “Could you leave a message for them?”

“Well yes, but what if no one checks them?”

“Leave a message with the shrinechurch and come with me,” Luke said. “We’re going to go help them fight.” 

Guy froze, phone in his hand, and stared in shock at the fire seraph. “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #002: Normins are Cute
> 
> Tear: You’re a… normin, right?
> 
> Mieu: Have you never seen a normin before? My name is Mieu, and I serve Master Luke and Master Asch!
> 
> Tear: Why do you serve two fire seraphs?
> 
> Mieu: Because they are my masters!
> 
> Tear: Right…
> 
> Tear: [internally] It’s so cute!


	3. Fiery Impulses

[Tower of Lohgrin, Outskirts of Lohengrin]

Luke knew the basics of the shepherd’s duties, or at least the parts that interested him. One of the most important tasks of the shepherd is to quell hellions and be able to change them back. If this hellion was powerful enough to be affecting Asch and Ion, then Luke was determined to quell that hellion as soon as possible, and he needed Guy’s help.

“Luke, this is crazy,” Guy finally said when they came to a stop at the base of the tower.

Luke shook his head, “You train under Pere, Guy. You can be the shepherd so we can go quell that hellion.”

“I can’t- I’m not a shepherd Luke! I haven’t gone through the proper ceremony or formed the Shepherd’s Pact yet!”

Luke’s brisk walk came to a stop. “Pact?”

“Yeah, the Shepherd’s Pact. I can’t quell hellions or anything unless I make a pact with a Prime Lord Seraph. Shepherd Pere is still working on setting this up with the Rolance church and looking for a suitable Prime Lord for me. Otherwise, I can’t be a shepherd,” said Guy, sounding relieved that Luke might be reconsidering this.

“So you need a Prime Lord,” Luke considered.

“Yes, a seraph who can wield the power of purification,” Guy added.

Luke whirled around eyes wide upon hearing that, “purification? Guy, I can wield the power of purification so we can form the pact. Let’s do this right now! You know how to form it right?”

Upon hearing that, Guy froze in shock for the second time. Prime Lords were something of a rarity. Even among the more powerful seraphim, they were still really rare. Yet here was Luke casually saying that he was one of them.

He was stopped for a moment before he found his voice again, remembering what Luke was proposing they do.

“I-yes, wait, Luke! Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?” Guy protested. He had to let Luke know of the underlying consequences of becoming a Prime Lord.

“I know we need to beat that hellion to save Asch and Ion, and we don’t have any shepherds around but you, Guy. So will you help?” Luke implored, his forest green eyes staring at Guy and a pout forming on his lips.

He rarely could say no to a determined Luke. As Guy reassessed the situation and its urgency, he saw Luke’s eyes alit with a stubborn shine to them. Guy had hoped to become a shepherd and here was Luke offering it to him just like that. Mostly likely, given Luke’s lack of knowledge of anything that concerned human affairs, he wouldn’t know just how valued seraphim with purification powers were. If the Rolance church ever found out… Well, it was Guy’s duty to protect and watch over him.

And a wrathful brother to contend with if he didn’t.

The blond took a deep breath and made the decision, “Okay Luke. Let’s form the pact.”

Luke jumped up and down impatiently, “Great, okay. So let's get this over with!”

Guy held out his hand, “you will have to tether yourself to me. I will become your new vessel if you are going to be my Prime Lord and bestow your power to purification to me.”

There was finally a glint of uncertainty in Luke’s eyes that was simultaneously worrying and reassuring all at once. He looked around to check if anyone was watching which was more instinctive than anything; they were completely alone in the shadows, but transferring essence was a very private thing for the seraphim.

The red head seemed to have come to a conclusion and took in a breath before grasping Guy’s hand. Through the contact, Luke transferred his seraph essence into Guy.

A surge of warmth flowed into Guy and flickered to light. It was like a torch being lit inside him growing hotter and hotter. Was this what it’s like to house a fire seraph? Guy closed his eyes and surrendered to the heat of the flames that spread throughout his body. It was nearly overwhelming and Guy struggled to keep hold of his consciousness that he almost didn’t see a symbol appear on the back of his right hand. A symbol that he has been waiting to see for a long time: the Shepherd’s Sigil.

_Guy? Can you hear me? Guy?_

Luke?

 _I’m here._ _What do we do next?_

Guy blinked for a moment, trying to get used to hearing another voice in his head.

We need a divine weapon to channel your powers of purification. Yours should be a sword.

_Hmmm I remember seeing a sword that looked like the one in the tower._

Lohgrin Tower? The one behind us?

_Yes, let’s go!_

It was a little strange for him to be walking around and talking to Luke when Luke was nowhere to be seen. The seraph seemed to be taking it in stride, probably because being one of the long-lived seraphim, not many things faze him anymore even if he has never done this before.

“Luke?” Guy said out loud. “This is too weird, can you come out?”

“Sure,” Luke appeared in a brief flash of white light which startled Guy. The red haired gave him an impatient look before he turned around immediately and took off for the tower, leaving his human friend to catch up with his new Prime Lord.

The Tower of Lohgrin functioned as both an entryway to Lohengrin and a watch tower. During the day, many merchants and travelers traipse through the cobblestones and archways and it has become a hub for visitors and vendors. It was late afternoon when they entered and while most of the crowds have left, there were a few people chatting with each other and milling about. While Ion’s blessing continued to bathe the place with airy clarity, very few humans would be able to tell that their seraph lord was in an immobilized state. As Luke walked through, Guy noticed a few stares shooting at the fiery seraph.

“Come on, the sword is this way.”

Oblivious to the people’s stares, he flew through the archways fully focused on reaching the sword. Luke didn’t care if he was causing a scene as he broke into a run and cutting through the crowd. There was a hellion on the loose, his fellow seraphim in danger of turning into hellions, and Asch not dead but dead to the world. Luke was determined to save them.

It was also unnerving to Luke that for the first time in his entire life, he couldn’t hear Asch’s voice. He always felt comforted by being able to talk to Asch at any time, even when Asch had blocked the connection, Luke knew that at the end of the day, Asch would come back. Now it was nearing the end of the day, and Asch still wasn’t responding.

“That’s a divine sword,” Guy’s voice broke through Luke’s thoughts and he saw the sword that he walked past many times when he explored the Tower of Lohgrin. It was a beautiful decorated sword, looking more ceremonial than for actual combat.

They both stared at the sword, “so what now?” Luke asked, knowing Guy would know what to do.

Guy picked up the sword and held the hilt up, “this sword is our vessel for armatization. If we need to combine our powers, which I’m betting we’ll need to if we’re going up against that hellion, then we can channel our mana through this.”

Luke reached out to grab the sword. It was an immediate connection with it and the sword vanished in his hand. Guy was fascinated by how Luke absorbed the sword into his being but he was quickly whisked out of there at Luke’s insistence.

“Is that all we need?” Luke said as they walked quickly to the tower exit. “Can we now purify the hellion?”

Guy thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “We didn’t go through the proper ceremony or anything.”

“We don’t have time for that! Ion and Asch needs us now, and what if Sorey and Mikleo can’t hold out?”

“No I get it, we might be able to do something about that hellion,” said Guy.

For the first time since Asch was hit by Van’s malevolent ball, a smile graced Luke’s face.

Zaphgott Moor is a timeless space of land, battered by heat and dry winds, which shaped its odd boulders and rounded cliffs. Guy was thankful that at this time of day, the heat has started to die down with the sun, but it was still scorching hot.

His fire seraph companion was completely unbothered by the temperatures but whether that’s because he’s a seraph being housed by Guy or because his primary element is fire, Guy couldn’t tell exactly.

There was no time to wait for a carriage to take them at least part way to the canyon so Luke and Guy ran out on foot. The newborn shepherd felt relieved to see the looming cliffs and the shade they bring. He was still feeling fatigue from being suddenly turned into a divine vessel and only his training kept him going.

Luke came to a stop at the mouth of the canyon and stared. The path disappeared into the wedge of the cliffs on both sides. He could feel an ominous chill wafting out of the place. The Grand Seraphs went in there?

Sorey was right about the hellion being a powerful one. Luke could feel the malevolent domain seeping into the canyon and it was causing a heavy pain in his chest. Even Guy, who wouldn’t be able to feel the full extent of the malevolence, could still tell there was something wrong.[i]

They treaded carefully along the paths of the cliffs, looking for any sign of the hellion, or any sign of Mikleo and Sorey.

“Weren’t they supposed to be here?” Luke finally said out loud.

As soon as the words left his mouth, a sudden explosion rocked the cliff ledges and the two of the braced themselves against the nearest wall from the shaking.

As soon as the vibrations stopped, both of them ran forward in that direction. They turned a corner and stopped abruptly.

From out of a massive cloud of dust, a humongous troll more than double their heights rose to its feet. It looked heavyset and had spikes jutting out of its belt and club. Its small head swiveled about as two flashes of yellow and blue darted around it and pelting the troll with numerous attacks. The yellow one stopped and Guy realized he was looking at the soft blond of Lord Sorey’s hair. A circle of light appeared around the seraph as he pulled open a scroll and began chanting an arte through the medium. Just as the troll turned its attention to the blond seraph, it was pelted in the back by Mikleo thrusting his staff forward. A torrent of water bashed into the troll, knocking the hellion off kilter. The troll flailed to stay balanced on one leg just as Sorey’s incantation was completed.

“O heavenly storm / smite thy enemy with your sword. Thunder Lance!”

Above the troll, several spears of crackling lightning materialized and crashed down, impaling the hellion in a blaze of white sizzling energy. The troll reared back, immobilized by the hit.

“Sorey!” Mikleo yelled in warning from the other side and Sorey immediately jumped back.

“Burning red / freezing blue / burn in tandem,” chanted Mikleo. Underneath the troll, a massive circle of purple light appeared.

“Violet Storm!” Magical energy surged upwards from the circle, generating enough power to make the impaled troll even rise a few feet off the ground before it slammed back into the ground.

Everyone could feel the ricochet under their feet from the sheer weight of the troll falling. The troll hellion teetered, groaning in pain, but stayed on its feet despite the massive damage it sustained.

“Mikleo, we can’t keep going. The hellion won’t be purified at this rate,” Sorey warned.

“I know,” Mikleo said, gazing at the wounded troll.

With a moment of reprieve, the two seraphs suddenly realized they weren’t alone and spun around to see Guy and Luke standing there wide-eyed.

“What are you two doing here?” Mikleo demanded, “Where is Shepherd Pere?”

“No one picked up my calls so… we came here to help.” Guy answered.

Sorey’s green eyes were wide as he sensed a familiar domain hanging over them. It was the power of purification that has been bestowed on Guy and it seemed to have come through Luke. He was astonished that this practically unknown seraph could wield the Silver Flame. Just who exactly is Luke?

Beside him, Mikleo came to the same conclusion and was trying to gather his bearings on the implications of a new shepherd suddenly coming into existence when the four of them heard a grunt from behind.

Sorey’s lightning blades have fizzled out by now, and the troll hellion was now swinging its massive club at them. They all quickly jumped out of the way and Luke formed a yellow ball of light in his hands. He dove forward and pushed it at the troll’s arm where it exploded, pushing the large hellion a step back.

During the knockback, Sorey and Mikleo hurried over to Guy and Luke’s side.

“We’ll talk about your shepherd pact later,” Mikleo said, his face expressing a mixture of disapproval and resignation. “We need to purify this hellion right now. Have you two got the Divine Sword at least?”

Guy and Luke nodded and Mikleo was relieved.

“Okay, form the armatus then and strike the hellion while Sorey and I immobilize it.” Mikleo held up his staff and formed another spell circle, “Pressure the ice / Final Embrace!” He chanted and instantly engulfed the troll in a massive pile of ice and then turned to Guy and Luke expectantly.

“Wait, we don’t know how to armatize!” Guy exclaimed.

“You call on Luke’s True Name to combine your powers,” said Sorey and then he paused in realization: Luke hadn’t given Guy his True Name. “Oh.”

“Wait, don’t force the armatization then,” Mikleo quickly jumped in, “True Names are important to a seraph and you must have complete-“

“No, I’ll tell Guy my True Name,” Luke interrupted. “We need to purify that hellion to save Asch right? Then we have to do it.”

“Luke, are you sure?” said Sorey, “Doing this will not be reversible if you reveal something as private as your True Name. Guy might not be able to handle your combined powers either. We can find another way.”

“Yes I am sure!” Luke said impatiently, watching as Mikleo’s ice slowly begins to crack while they were talking, “Just tell me how this works.”

Sorey frowned but he acquiesced, “Okay then repeat after me: Let our pact be forged, that my unwavering incandescence be thy purification. Should thou accept this trust and forge a bond anew, I will bestow upon thee my True Name.”

“Let our pact be forged… that my unwavering incan- what?” Luke stumbled a bit.

“Incandescence be thy- oh never mind, just say: I will bestow upon thee my True Name.”

“I will bestow upon thee my True Name,” Luke repeated.

A few seconds went by as they stared at each other. Behind them, Mikleo resisted the urge to face palm.

“Luke,” Sorey said quietly, “You need to give Guy your name. Whisper it to him if you feel uncomfortable saying out loud.”

Luke blinked, “oh right. It’s Moqui Karmalu.”

Sorey clapped his hands together, beaming.[ii] “Great! Now call his name and combine your powers to wield the sacred flame!”

Luke sucked in a shocked breath at those words, “What?” He exclaimed, but before he could say another word, Guy called out, “Moqui Karmalu!”

A burst of light appeared as Luke and Guy combined into one being. Flames scorched the floor around them as a large sword appeared in Guy’s hand, and when the light dimmed, Guy stood in a new red and white outfit, feeling the hum of energy coursing through the piece. It felt similar to when he forged the pact with Luke earlier and became his vessel; only the power was much greater, concentrating all around him and channeling through his sword.

Mikleo stepped forward, “Guy? Luke? How are you feeling?”

“Like we can slash a thousand hellions!” Luke and Guy’s voices blended together in an echo and before either of the elder seraphs can say anything further, Guy shot off the ground like a rocket and swung right at the hellion.

Sorey and Mikleo batted at the dust, “Wow, talk about overload of power,” Sorey said coughing slightly.

“That’s… definitely not normal,” Mikleo commented.

“I remember vaguely what it was like to armatize and there was a surge of power… I hope Guy can handle that amount of raw power.” Sorey replied.

“I’m not sure he’s able to do that right now even,” said Mikleo as he looked up into the sky.

Up above, Guy swung this sword and summoned a column of flames as he made contact with the troll hellion.

“Pillars of flame!” They both cried as they made a downward vertical slash and engulfed them and everything surrounding them.

“Crimson Cross!”

Another series of slashes followed that left even more trails of flames everywhere.

When the flames died down, the troll was nowhere to be seen. Guy landed back on the ground and they released the armatus.

“Whoa!” Luke gasped, suddenly finding himself holding up Guy’s weight. The blond fell over and was out cold.

“I was afraid of this,” Mikleo said, coming up to Luke and lightly touched Guy’s head with a healing spell. “All of that in such a short period of time and he hasn’t even been able to adjust to your powers yet.”

“But he’ll be alright, won’t he?” Luke asked, slightly worried about his friend.

“He needs a long nap but he’ll be fine,” Sorey answered. He looked over to where the troll hellion used to be and in its place was a…. normin?

“Mikleo…. Can normin turn into hellions?”

“We’ve seen that happen with Ataak centuries ago, but usually it doesn’t happen unless there’s- huh? The troll was a normin?”

“Tokunaga!” Luke exclaimed, recognizing the normin. It was a small black normin wearing a tan coloured hat decorated in buttons. Tokunaga groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“What… happened? Lord Luke, is that you?” The normin asked in a daze.

“You turned into a hellion, idiot,” Luke replied.

Tokunaga blinked at them, “What?!”

“We can discuss this later. Luke, you look tired.” Sorey interrupted, noticing that the fire seraph looked a bit worn.

“Well, kind of?”

“Even the seraphim can get tired after doing all that so why don’t you rest inside Guy?” Mikleo suggested. Luke nodded and disappeared with a flash, returning to his new vessel.

“Luke?” The water seraph called. No answer.

“He really went all out today,” Sorey commented.

“Umm…” Tokunaga stuttered, staring wide eyed at the two seraphs. “Are you the Grand Seraphs?”

“I’m Sorey, and that’s Mikleo,” Sorey said, crouching down to eye level with Tokunaga.

“Did Master Guy… did he purify me?” The normin asked, looking at the only human in the group.

“Yup, Guy is a brand new shepherd now,” Sorey replied gesturing to the blond sprawled out on the ground. He scratched his head sheepishly, “And I guess we have to carry him back to Lohengrin now.”

Mikleo sighed. It has been a day full of surprises and it still wasn’t over yet.

“We’ll take turns.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #003: Reading the Ancient Tongue
> 
> Sorey: Do you think we should tell Luke that we can read the Ancient Tongue?
> 
> Mikleo: He did seem surprised that we knew, though the Ancient Tongue is practically a dead language by now. Even most seraphim have forgotten how to read it, let alone speak it.
> 
> Sorey: True, speaking it is a total pain because I never know if I’m pronouncing it right, or using the right meaning.
> 
> Mikleo: I’m pretty sure your interpretation of Luke’s name was correct.
> 
> Sorey: Yeah, it just occurred to me in that moment what it means.
> 
> Mikleo: Luke of the Sacred Flame huh.
> 
> Sorey: It fits.


	4. A New Adventure Begins

[Guy’s Room, Lohengrin]

As a seraph, Luke didn’t need that long to rest so by the time they arrived in Lohengrin, Luke came out to show the elder seraphs where Guy’s room was so they could leave the blond to recuperate there.

Tear reported that Ion was awake and fully recovered from his malevolence-induced illness, but Asch continued to remain motionless. Luke felt a little disheartened by that, but he was glad that Ion at least was all right.

Mikleo had told Luke to wait and watch over Guy while he and Sorey talked with Ion about some kind of shrine issue, and this is where he sat now, watching his human friend sleep and reviewing all that has happened and what he has done. He had already gone to see Asch earlier and seeing no change, he hoped Guy would recover more quickly.

Mieu was distraught when he heard that Luke had snuck out of Lohengrin to go fight a hellion and then mad that he didn’t get to come. The red-head knew that the normin would get over his anger though. Mieu has always been sweet and easygoing, and would forgive his Master soon enough.

“Luke?” Ion’s voice came through the door.

“Come in,” Luke replied.

The Seraph Lord entered the little bedroom with the calm and ease that his presence always brought. Luke sat up a little straighter and waved, “Hey Ion, how are you feeling?”

“Much better,” Ion answered with a small smile. “Lord Sorey and Lord Mikleo told me what happened, and I have you and Guy to thank for purifying Tokunaga and restoring the malevolence level back to normal.”

“Y-your welcome,” Luke said, slightly embarrassed by the seraph lord’s words.

Ion nodded, “And I’m sorry about Asch. I have no idea what Van’s ball of malevolence has done. Though if anyone can figure this out, I’m sure our guests can.”

“Guests? Oh, you mean Sorey and Mikleo.”

“That’s right. They were coming here initially to check on Lohengrin’s state of affairs, but I think Asch’s condition is more important at the moment.”

“Lord Ion!” Anise’s voice came through the door. “The Grand Seraphs want to call a meeting, can you come back?”

“I am coming, Anise.” Ion responded levelly.

“A meeting?” Luke asked.

“When Guy wakes up, can the both of you come to the Shrinehall?”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Then I will take my leave,” said Ion, heading out.

“I’m glad you’re okay again, Ion.”

“Thank you, Luke.”

As soon as Ion left, Mieu pounced through the door, “Master Luke!”

“Are you finally done sulking?” Luke asked, scooping the normin up.

“I wasn’t sulking!”

“Yeah yeah,” Luke said, squeezing the normin. He opened the mental channel to Asch.

_Asch, I purified the hellion that was invading Ion’s domain and he’s fine again. Now I need to find out how to return you to normal._

_…Luke?_

_Asch?! Is that you?_

_Stop screaming. I feel like a boulder fell and is crushing me, what happened?_

_What’s the last thing you remember?_

_I remember… Van? VAN? Wait, he was trying to hurt you wasn’t he?_

_You pushed me away remember? That’s why you’re like this, Asch. You’ve been in a coma because of the malevolence inside you._

_So I’m not a hellion?_

_No._

_I’ve heard that humans and seraphim who become hellions don’t have any consciousness. I guess… that’s… true._

_Still tired huh?_

_Ah… yeah._

_I’ll let you sleep then. But I’m so glad I can hear you again! Maybe it’s because of that hellion we purified._

_Yeah maybe… maybe… WAIT WHAT?!_

_Go to sleep Asch._

_WHAT DO YOU MEAN PURIFY? WHAT DID YOU DO LUKE?_

Luke forcibly closed the channel before putting his chin on Mieu’s head. “He’s going to be so mad,” he said, chuckling.

“Were you able to contact Master Asch?” Mieu asked.

“Yes,” Luke said with a relieved sigh, “he’s all right.”

“That’s good, Master Luke!” Mieu chirped.

“Mieu? Luke?” Guy stirred groggily and opened his eyes.

“Guy!”

* * *

 

Lohengrin’s Shrinechurch has a reception and a small room that houses the Lord of the Land’s vessel. The rest of the building is dedicated to the administration of the town with multiple levels of offices and meeting rooms.

Tear peeked into the hall that held Lord Ion’s vessel. It was a much smaller place than the Pendrago Shrinechurch, probably only able to hold fifty people at a time. Lord Ion explained that the piety of the Lohengrin people was sufficient because each household rotated their visitations to the shrinechurch. Asch and Natalia were working to get Ion a bigger venue, but the biggest obstacle was the people who insisted that their visitation cycle worked for the best.

Well, until Lohengrin started becoming even bigger and more people choose to live here. Tear could see why they were working to change this system that the town has become settled in. It was a temporary solution that will soon become unreasonable to keep once more people settle and less people move out.

In the next room, Tear took a seat at the table next to a young blond seraph.

“Hello,” she said to the seraph.

“Hi, you’re Tear right? From Pendrago? I’m Natalia.” The blond seraph, Natalia, said with graceful smile and held out her hand.

Tear smiled and reached out to shake Natalia’s hand, “Yes, I work at the Shrinechurch as an acolyte there.”

“You have to tell me more about it!” Natalia said excitedly, “I’ve been working to make Lohengrin into an important place for humans and seraphim to coexist with each other. It’s a dream that I carry ever since I heard about Lord Mikleo’s goals when he founded this town!" 

“Lord Mikleo founded Lohengrin?” Tear asked in disbelief.

“A few centuries ago, Lord Mikleo decided to settle at the Tower of Lohgrin, which was kind of unheard of for a water seraph in the desert,” Natalia explained. “From there, he founded a small village for Seraphim who were looking to settle somewhere and integrate with the most pious worshippers of the seraphim.”

Tear listened intently, “So that’s how Lohengrin started? That’s really fascinating.”

Next to the seraph was a young girl who wore a white cloak similar to the designs of the shepherd’s garb. His eyelids drooped and she looked absolutely bored.

“Natalia,” she drawled out. “Is Lohengrin all you ever talk about? I think you say this like five times a day!”

Natalia coloured, “Well Anise,” she grounded out. “This is important to me… Like how Lord Ion is important to you.”

Anise spluttered.

Tear rarely got to banter with other women in such a friendly fashion, so she simply smiled at their antics.

“I like your headband,” she said, admiring the teal coloured headband adorning Natalia’s hair.

“Thank you!” The blond beamed, reaching up to touch her hair. “It’s my favourite.”

“Very cute, it suits you,” Tear complimented.

Anise jumped into the conversation, “She’s always wearing that, but don’t you think my pigtails are cuter?” She shook her head back and forth, making the pigtails swish about.

Tear nodded, “I could never pull that off…”

“That’s right you couldn’t!” Anise teased, puffing herself up.

The three of them chatted for a little bit before they heard the sound of the door opening and Sorey, Mikleo, and Ion entered the room.

Natalia stood up immediately and gave a short bow. “Lord Mikleo, Lord Sorey, I am sorry I was not here to greet you properly earlier, and thank you for helping us with Lord Ion’s sickness.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sorey said with a bright grin. “It’s what Mikleo and I do after all.”

“You mean besides writing books, teaching young shepherds, supervising the shrinechurches, exploring ruins, running errands, book signings, untangling political problems etcetera, etcetera?” Mikleo asked with a tinge of sarcasm.

Sorey rubbed his head with a sheepish grin, “Right. We do all of that as well.”

“We have another problem though,” said Ion apologetically. “The malevolence has lifted in Lohengrin, but Asch is still in a malevolence-induced coma.”

“Why is he still in a coma?” Natalia asked worriedly.

“Shepherd Pere should be arriving any minute now,” Ion replied. “We can explain everything when he gets here.”

Luke, Guy, and Mieu opened the door to the meeting room and found everybody sitting around the long table.

“Pere!” Luke exclaimed, seeing the elderly shepherd seated at the table.

“Hey old man,” said Guy in greeting.

“Guy, Luke,” Pere greeted them. “Come sit, I have heard about everything that happened while I was away and I am sorry that I couldn’t get back sooner.”

“That’s okay Pere. We know you’re retiring soon so Guy here can take over for you,” Luke replied.

“Luke! That’s rude to say to Shepherd Pere!” Natalia admonished.

“But it’s true!” Luke protested.

“Please, can we focus on the matter at hand here?” Mikleo interrupted. “We solved one issue, but Asch is still in a coma.”

Luke flung himself into a chair, “That’s why I’m here right?” He looked around before asking, “Wait where’s Ginji and Noelle?”

“They went upstairs to see Asch,” Pere answered.

“We’re here to discuss how to cure Asch right? Can we purify him directly then?” Guy suggested, shifting the topic back and getting right down to business. “Like how Ion got better after we fought and purified Tokunaga.”

Miklo shook his head, “Ion was affected by the malevolence in the domain, not in himself. But… you may be on to something, Guy. We’ve been thinking about how to reach the malevolence locked inside Asch but we haven’t considered how to purify it once we get it out.”

“What do you mean?” asked Natalia, “Couldn’t Shepherd Pere purify it?”

Sorey hummed for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought and oblivious to everyone’s expectant stares.

“Sorey, is there something wrong?” Mikleo finally asked.

“Yes, I’m realizing that right now there isn’t a shepherd who can purify that level of malevolence.”

A chorus of protests rose from everyone upon hearing that statement. Mikleo held up his hand for silence.

“Then, let me summarize the situation we have,” said the water seraph. “Asch is infected by a dense amount of malevolence that is somehow contained inside him instead of spreading around. It’s too dangerous to leave it like that so we have to extract it somehow.”

“Because the malevolence might turn Asch into a hellion?” Guy asked. Luke twitched, not liking the idea one bit.

“It actually would be easier if Asch turned into a hellion and then we purify him right away,” Mikleo admitted. Natalia and Luke both winced at the idea, but didn’t vocalize any protest since they both had actually thought about that possibility.

“Then why don’t we do that?” Anise asked.

Sorey answered this time, “Because the density of that malevolence is so strong, we might risk Asch turning into a dragon.”

A stunned silence permeated the room. Luke held himself back from banging and screaming on the table and only the feeling of Asch’s faint presence in his mind prevented him from doing it.

“I’m only saying this so you get the idea of what we’re up against,” Sorey added apologetically.

“Lord Sorey, if we extract the malevolence instead, then what will happen?” Tear spoke up.

“I don’t have the answer as to how it works, but the malevolence itself can manifest into something on par with the strength of a dragon. We need a shepherd with the highest level of spiritual powers to be able to stand against a domain that powerful.” The lightning seraph said solemnly.

Mikleo sucked in a breath, “then Shepherd Pere cannot perform the purification due to the restriction of Ginji’s spiritual powers. His Prime Lord and Sub Lord are both wind seraphs, albeit augmented by the blessings of Hyanoa, but in this case we are going to need more than one level of spiritual power.”

“I don’t get it,” Luke complained, turning to Guy. “What does he mean?”

“He means that Pere only completed the Trial of Wind,” Guy explained.

“Ginji is my Prime Lord,” Pere added, “And we completed his element trial, which means that his purification power can only channel through wind because of that. I had thought at the time it was fine since Noelle was also wind but…”

“It’s not your fault,” said Mikleo. “Over the years since the Awakening, there have been many shepherds and squires that continued to purify the land. The malevolence has become a manageable level now so most shepherds do not need to obtain all of the spiritual powers anymore.”

“So we need to get all of the spiritual powers to purify this malevolence, and Pere can’t do that anymore,” Luke said out loud. “What about the other shepherds?”

“I can ask Master Mohs for Pendrago’s shepherd to help,” Tear offered.

Mikleo shook his head, “Sorey and I are… trying to avoid involvement with them right now.”

Tear frowned. She hadn’t heard of any problems between her shrinechurch and the Grand Seraphs.

“And I know Ladylake’s current shepherd has completed two trials but one of them is also her Prime Lord’s. Her apprentice is… not ready,” Sorey said diplomatically.

“Apprentice? Then what about me and Luke?” said Guy.

Mikleo sighed, “I hate to say this, but if you can complete the trials, you might be our best chance right now.”

“I do not want to sound mean, Lord Mikleo, but these two are absolutely new at this! Completely inexperienced!” Natalia protested. She had never been part of the shepherd’s pilgrimage before but she knew from all the teachings and stories that it would be very difficult. And here was someone who has only been a shepherd for a couple of days, paired with probably the most oblivious seraph she has ever met, going on this dangerous journey that could kill them both easily.

Natalia had her worries for Asch as a genuine reason to take on this task and it would also work as an excuse to hide her real fears. She had a duty to Lohengrin, but she also had to make sure this fool-hardy idea actually worked, or else she would lose everyone she cared about.

“I know they are, but it wasn’t that long ago when the only hope against the malevolence this world had was a single shepherd and his inexperienced seraph sublord,” Mikleo replied, a faraway look shined in his violet eyes.

“I think you meant a seraph sublord and his inexperienced shepherd,” Sorey replied with a smile.

Natalia’s eyes widened. She understood immediately. They were talking about how centuries ago, these two seraphim made the journey completely on their own: Sorey was the only shepherd, and like Natalia herself, Mikleo was also a very young seraph. Yet, they pulled it off and made legends with simply their sense of adventure, curiosity, and the courage to do what must be done. There was a reason why their lore was a popular story among the humans and seraphim even now.

“Back to the topic at hand,” Ion finally spoke up, “Have we decided that we need to have Shepherd Guy obtain all of the spiritual powers?”

“But… Luke is the only seraph, and he’s my Prime Lord too, so how can this work?” Guy asked.

Ion raised his hand, “If it’s alright with you Luke, I will be your sublord.”

“Wait what?” Luke said, bewildered.

“Lord Ion what?” Anise exclaimed even louder over Luke.

“Asch was one of the seraphs under my care,” said Ion. “It is my responsibility to help him and see this through.”

“Then I’m coming with you!” Anise insisted, “Since I’m Ion’s Guardian.”

“Me too,” Natalia volunteered, and then she glared at Luke, “For Asch’s sake, that’s all.”

Luke grimaced, “Fine. I’m sure Asch would love that.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I meant what I said!””

“Don’t yell, Luke.”

“You’re not my boss!”

As Luke and Natalia bickered, Tear came over and tapped on Guy’s shoulder.

“My duty is to investigate Van’s actions, and I feel that I am at least partly responsible for what happened to Asch. To make up for this, may I also join as your squire?”

“S-squire? You?” Guy stuttered, taken aback.

“I know I’m still in training as an Acolyte but I hope that my training can be enough to be of assistance,” Tear said.

“No no!” He yelped, waving his arms trying the find the right words. “You’re fine. I mean, you’re great, you’re beautiful even, that is…”

“Oh,” said Tear and a light blush appeared on her cheeks. “Thanks…?”

For the umpteenth time that day, Mikleo resisted the urge to sigh as he surveyed the scene of humans and seraphim bantering and arguing with each other. He can’t help but also feel proud to see that this is what they worked for: the future where both species could come together peacefully and coexist.

Sorey leaned on Mikleo’s shoulders. A habit that he’s picked up ever since he realized they were now the same height, but Mikleo could never find it in himself to complain about it. He simply wrapped his arm around Sorey, recognizing the glint of adventure in his beloved’s eyes.

“They remind me of… the different people we travelled with before.”

 Mikleo scoffed. With Ion being the only one who was decently experienced among them, they were a motley group indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #004: Teaching Luke (Part 1)
> 
> Sorey: Okay Luke, hold onto Guy’s hand and then Ion’s hand and repeat after me: O ye born of the willful skies. Here let our pact be forged, that my unwavering incandescence be as thy purification! Should thou accept this burden, recite aloud your name!
> 
> Luke: O ye born of the… why do the pacts have to be so complicated?
> 
> Natalia: You’re a Prime Lord now, Luke, so act like one.
> 
> Luke: But I can’t remember all of that!
> 
> Mikleo: Perhaps you can come up with your own incantation for bestowing your purification powers then, Luke.
> 
> Luke: Hmmm… something like: My purification powers are yours… if you want it?
> 
> Natalia: …
> 
> Sorey: …
> 
> Mikleo: This is going to be a long journey.
> 
> \--
> 
> Skit #005: Guardian Anise
> 
> Tear: Anise, are you also a shepherd?
> 
> Anise: Ah, you’re asking because of this cloak I’m wearing right? Actually, I am Lord Ion’s guardian.
> 
> Tear: I’ve never heard of that before.
> 
> Anise: I was assigned this role by the Pendrago Shrinechurch actually, and they said if I do this job right, I can become a shepherd someday.
> 
> Tear: I… see.
> 
> [Anise leaves.]
> 
> Tear: Lord Mikleo, are seraph guardians also trained to be shepherds?
> 
> Mikleo: No, they guard the vessels for the Seraphic Blessings. Most of them are priests who aren’t trained to be shepherds.
> 
> Tear: I see. Thank you.


	5. Duties of the Shepherd

[The Twin Seraphs’ Compound, Lohengrin]

It was another couple of days before Guy could begin the shepherd’s journey. After Luke made the sublord pact with Ion, there was a flurry of activities that the new shepherd missed out on due to collapsing from receiving Ion’s powers.

True to his title as a Lord of the Land, Ion was another powerful seraph to become the vessel for, and the power that flowed through the pact was like being in a hurricane. Guy blacked out for the next two days while everyone else prepared for the journey ahead.

Sorey checked on the contained malevolence to see how stable it was, and also to reassure Luke that it wouldn’t ‘burst’ and turn Asch into a hellion while they were gone. Shepherd Pere and his seraphs, Ginji and Noelle, volunteered to guard Asch while everyone was gone which also reassured Luke. He knew that Ginji and Asch were good friends and they would take care to be vigilant in looking after Asch’s body.

Before leaving to meet up with the others, Luke visited his brother one last time. Though part of him felt silly in trying to say good-bye to a comatose body, he still felt better after seeing Asch. The channel in his mind that linked to him also stayed silent and Luke had to guess it was because Asch had to keep fighting against the malevolence.

When Guy fully recovered, they all conferred at Luke’s compound where Grand Seraphs Mikleo and Sorey asked to meet before they leave.

“Mikleo and I will be leaving on our research trip,” Sorey began. “We’re counting on you guys to complete this pilgrimage in order to purify Asch’s malevolence. The other problem is that we don’t have any way of extracting that malevolence. Hopefully we can find the answer somewhere.”

“Then we meet back here in Lohengrin? How do we coordinate this?” Natalia asked.

“This isn’t one of your town projects, Natalia,” Luke complained. “Pere and Ginji promised to watch over Asch here so of course we have to come back.”

“Guy still needs to find a water seraph, and also make the pact with Natalia when he’s ready,” said Mikleo, nodding to the newly fledged shepherd. “I believe if we follow in geographic sequence, your trial order should be wind, then earth, water and fire. We will come find you if you follow that path.”

“I’m last? Isn’t the fire trial supposed to be close by?” Luke was confused.

“Yes, but you are last because you cannot form Guy’s water element channel right now.”

Ion nodded, “Then our best course of action is to visit Difland where we can find the Water Trial and a possible Water Seraph.”

Outside Lohengrin’s walls was a vast space of dry land that stretches as far as the eye can see. Whenever Luke came out here, he reveled in the heat of Zaphgott Moor. For wind and fire seraphs, the vast open desert was like a land of paradise. With the sturdy massive cliffs that loomed over the lands, an earth seraph can also dwell here comfortably.

For humans however, Zaphgott Moor can be a dangerous place to navigate if they weren’t prepared. Over the years, merchants and travelers have carved out safe routes for caravans and installed wires for communication and shelters for rest spots. The rest of the surrounding areas remained mostly untouched.

Guy, Anise, Tear, and Natalia stood at the gate of Lohengrin staring at the large map posted on the wall.

“So it looks like the Wind Trial is in Guinevere Village,” Guy said out loud, pointing to a corner of the map.

 _That is in WestronBolt Gorge which is in Rolance territory._ Ion’s voice echoed for everyone to hear.

“Then the answer’s obvious, we need to leave Zaphgott Moor!” Anise said enthusiastically running ahead of the party.

“Wait, Anise! It’s too dangerous to be running off like that!” Natalia called, running after their smallest member.

Guy gestured to the road, “After you.” He said to the only other human left, Tear, causing her to giggle.

_Oh brother._

_Is something wrong Luke?_

_I just realized Guy is the only male in this group since we’re both in here._

_Ah… I see how that could be an issue, but he seems all right for now. My worry is that Natalia’s current vessel will not be able to stand against any hellions we might go up against._

_You think we’ll encounter a hellion?_

_We should expect a run-in, or if not, there will definitely be one in the trials. Remember, Luke, one of the most basic duties of the shepherd is to quell hellions._

_Right. Purification powers._

_I look forward to working as your sublord, Luke._

_Ah, me too, Ion._

At least you two have it easy while the rest of us are burning in this heat.

_Burning? This heat is barely anything, Guy._

Shut up Luke. We can’t all be fire seraphs.

* * *

 

“What is that creepy looking thing?” Natalia gaped, gripping one of her short knives on the hilt and backing away from the creature prowling towards them.

Ion lifted his metal staff in front of him defensively. “It’s a hellion called a Lycanthrope,” he answered, “They are pretty common to find in Zaphgott Moor.”

“Lord Ion, get back!” Anise cried.

“What are its weaknesses?” Tear asked from further down the field, staring at another pack of hellions.

“Fire, and artes mainly,” Ion responded.

Luke materialized on the field, “This battle was made for me,” he proclaimed.

“Luke, start casting,” Guy said. “Tear and I will hold them off.”

“I will protect Lord Ion!” said Anise, jumping in front of the wind seraph who was already starting his casting circle.

“Wait, what do I do?” Natalia asked, staring at everyone taking their positions.

“Back support please Natalia,” Tear answered without looking back. She blocked several of the hellions’ claws with her staff, grunting with the effort.

Guy looked over to see that he and Tear were unable to fully block the pack of lycanthropes because there were too many running, “No wait, we need more help with interference.”

“I don’t want Natalia to get too close,” Tear protested. “She is more susceptible to corruption right now.”

Luke’s papers ignited in the air, “Would you guys just shut up! Blitz Bomb!”

A burst of fire ignited the air. Tear and Guy barely managed to get out of the way as the dome of flames swept through and pushed the hellions back. Ion’s Radiant Heat spell followed up in a shot of heat and air and drove into the pack and through them back.

Wielding purifying flames on his sword, Guy finished off the last remaining lycanthropes that didn’t get purified by the seraphic artes. When the dust settled, the hellions turned back into regular desert wolves and ran off.

“Yay! We did it,” Anise cheered.

“Hey! You didn’t do anything! I did all the work,” Luke protested, but he was smiling rather than looking put out.

Guy felt the battle was a bit rough, but it was the first time they all fought together and there weren’t any major disasters so he counted that as a win. It set the tone for the rest of their trip to the first town: Ion and Luke did the casting while Guy and Tear held them off. Anise and Natalia bounced around to help whichever side needed it. It worked for the time being and luckily there weren’t too many hellions about in a land that has been blessed for centuries now.

Looking ahead, Anise saw the nearest town looming ahead. “We’re almost at Padamiya!”

_Padamiya?_

_It’s a town known as the Gateway to Rolance._

_Oh, I knew that._

I’m sure you’ve been there before, Luke. It’s the only way to reach Lohengrin without taking a boat.

_I probably did but I don’t remember._

_Guy, Luke, if you’re both ready, we should make Tear’s squire pact when we reach the inn at Padamiya._

_Yeah, I’m ready._ Yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #006: Mikleo’s Oath
> 
> Luke: Wait a second. Isn’t Mikleo a water seraph? Can’t we ask him to be a sublord?
> 
> Natalia: Did you not read Lord Mikleo’s Road to Awakening Chronicles Vol. XII?
> 
> Luke: Who has time to read that?
> 
> Natalia: You’re a seraph; time is the most that you have!
> 
> Luke: Let me try again: who has interest in reading all that?
> 
> Natalia: …Never mind. Lord Mikleo cannot become a sublord because he made an oath that forbids becoming a sublord.
> 
> Luke: Seriously?
> 
> Ion: I heard it was a sad day in Glenwood when Lord Mikleo revealed that was why he never joined another shepherd.
> 
> \--
> 
> Skit #007: How to become a Squire
> 
> Guy: Suaw… Suav? Suac… Swack?
> 
> Tear: Guy? What are you muttering about?
> 
> Guy: Gah! Don’t sneak up on me like that!
> 
> Tear: Sorry… It’s just you were talking very quietly.
> 
> Guy: It’s nothing really. The ancient language is just really hard to understand. That’s the one part of my studies I never liked.
> 
> Tear: But the ancient tongue isn’t spoken at all anymore, why do you need to learn it?
> 
> Guy: If you’re going to be my squire, I have to bestow a True Name for you too. But… Tear is really hard to translate into something that sounds right.
> 
> Tear: How about my full name then: Mystearica?
> 
> Guy: Mystearica?! That’s even longer and more difficult to translate!
> 
> Skit #008: Vessels come in all sizes
> 
> Tear: Luke, Mieu told me that he served you and Asch, did you leave him with Asch?
> 
> Luke: No way, I need Mieu to be with me.
> 
> Tear: Huh? (looks around)
> 
> Luke: What are you doing?
> 
> Tear: Then… where is he?
> 
> Luke: In this! (pulls out a ring)
> 
> Tear: It’s… tiny…
> 
> Luke: That’s Mieu’s vessel!


	6. On the Road

[Padamiya, Gateway to Rolance]

 

The small town of Padamiya received mostly travelers and merchants on their way to Lohengrin. But there were a few residential buildings and merchant stalls to allow the little settlement to be able to thrive and grow.

Luke looked around, trying to remember if once upon a time he and Asch had also travelled through this little town. Unlike the charming colourful cobblestone streets of Lohengrin accented by desert plants and unique street lamps, Padamiya was less colourful and the buildings more sparse. Looming over the little town was a massive stone structure that arched over them. That was the doorway to the Great Camelot Bridge.

Guy and Tear checked into the inn closest to the edge of town for two rooms. Night was falling quickly so the group determined that it would be better to cross the bridge in the morning. Guy and Tear convened in one of the rooms and waited for the seraphs who were wandering the town to return.

A moment later all three seraphs entered the room. Anise was nowhere to be found.

“I think she is wandering around the town,” Natalia hazarded a guess.

“Anise will be fine. I’ll go find her after we form the squire pact,” said Ion.

Luke shifted on the spot, eager to make the pact, “so how do we do this?”

“Every Prime Lord does it a bit differently,” Ion started.

“Then just give me the basics.”

Ion got Luke to hold Tear’s hand in one, and Guy’s in the other. Direct contact was the easiest way to allow transfer of powers between the Prime Lord and Shepherd with the Squire, especially now that Guy has had time to adjust to Luke’s powers. Later on, if Guy takes on more squires and Luke becomes more used to forming pacts, contact is not strictly necessary for the power flow.

“After Luke starts the process, Guy, you will give Tear a True Name to go by in the pact,” Ion instructed. Guy nodded, he knew this was coming and was ready for it.

“Recite after me Luke: A new bud forms on the holy branch. Its flowers bring fruit. Its fruit begets seeds. The circle of destiny turns once more.”

Luke closed his eyes so he can concentrate on Ion’s words. “A new bud forms on the holy branch. Its flowers bring fruit. Its fruit begets seeds. The circle of destiny turns once more.”

“Give life to the will of the shepherd and let it be proof of their bond.”

“Give life to the will of the shepherd and let it be proof of their bond,” Luke murmured, zeroing in on the two present beside him. He felt like he could build a bridge between the two if he just bathed it with his flames and so he poured his powers over Guy’s domain and enlarged it to encompass Tear’s.

A warm golden brown light formed between the three of them. It flowed over Tear’s whole body.

Luke murmured unprompted, “Thy true name shall be…”

Guy spoke quietly, “Mymphia Suw.”

Tear felt a warmth feeling course through her body. It settled in her core comfortably. Tear was aware that compared to the shepherd, the power she received was only a small portion of what Guy got in his pact with Luke so it wasn’t anything she couldn’t manage.

Still, the acolyte was thrilled that she can now assist Shepherd Guy and those feelings coursed through her along with Luke’s powers.

After the pact was completed, Ion went to find Anise so that they could all settle in for the night.

* * *

 

In the morning, the group gathered at the gates to the Camelot Bridge. Padamiya offered carriage services for crossing the bridge so the three humans and Natalia climbed into one of them and set off. Guy looked a little bit apprehensive at the enclosed space and glued himself to his corner of the carriage. Natalia, who sat next to him, shot him a sympathetic look.

The horses thundered down the massive bridge. Anise had her head sticking out the window, staring in awe. Even though she has been here before, she never stopped being amazed by just how huge the Camelot Bridge was. It was big enough for people to live on! Maybe she could build a mansion one day that arched over the land, just like this bridge.

Natalia looked out the window, not at the bridge, but at the endless blue of the skies and the sea meeting in a horizontal line. She looked at it with a mixture of thrill and fear. Like most of the seraphim of her element, she often felt uneasy when she was in the air or in the water.

“Are you alright Natalia?” Tear asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine." 

_We should be coming up to the other side soon._

_I would never want to walk all this way. This bridge is so huge and such a pain._

Guy chuckled. You don’t have to walk at all anymore, Luke.

_Definitely good for me!_

 At the end of bridge, they disembarked the carriage and went through the gate to the town situated on Rolance’s side: Chesedonia.

Unlike Padamiya’s tiny inlet, Chesedonia is the Rolance Empire’s trading post for travelers who visit the Camelot Bridge. It was a vibrant town full of buildings and people while the streets were filled with colourful stalls and noisy in the middle of the day among the crowds.

Luke materialized next to Guy to take a closer look at the gate town. It reminded him of the area surrounding the Tower of Lohgrin where the most people converged, but the lines of stalls were even longer and filled with not just trinkets but there were food stalls as well.

They couldn’t linger to look at everything the town had to offer though. Anise, who was constantly rushing ahead, slowed down to ask which direction it was to the Wind Trial before running ahead again. Natalia shook her head in exasperation before following after the youngest member in case she ran into any hellions or even just normal monsters wandering around outside of the towns.

Guy and Tear followed after them at their own pace. While they were on the move, Luke and Ion usually stayed inside Guy so as to not strain their shepherd or make their group too large to move around. With three humans and Natalia already walking, it was easier to wait until there was a battle, or they have slowed down. Luke tended to travel in and out of Guy more often than Ion, but seemed to have gotten the message that traveling inside his shepherd was easier.

At the entrance to Westronbolt Gorge, the pathway to Guinevere, Luke took a peek at the gorge and compared it to when he and Guy went to Lohgrin Canyon. Unlike the canyon, the gorge was even more massive and the paths dangled above a wide misty bottomless ravine. It was easily twice the size of canyon and probably more as they have been walking for most of the afternoon already and still couldn’t see the end.

Tear took one glance over the ravine quickly stepped back. It would be terrifying to navigate through those cliffs, let alone battle on them.

_A majority of the hellions and monsters you might find here are also weak to wind and fire, so we should be okay if we do what we did back in Zaphgott Moor._

Luke materialized with a pout. “You mean Guy, Anise and Tear run interference and I do the casting again? But that’s so boring.”

Ion also materialized. “We can come up with another strategy. What do you have in mind?”

Luke opened his mouth and then closed it again. It was clear he didn’t have an idea.

Guy tossed a wooden sword at Luke and the fire seraph fumbled with it. “How about using this as a weapon? You’ve been learning how to wield one all these years.”

Luke eyed the sword, “it’s just a wooden one though.”

“Wood might be the better medium for you to channel your fire,” said Ion, holding up and showing his metal-pronged staff in comparison.

Luke flipped the sword around and tested its weight. He clutched the handle and smirked, “True.”

He felt his own essence resonance well within the wood and he smirked. It was time to fight.

* * *

 

As they fought their way across the gorge, their strategy changed to having Guy and Luke running interference and slashing every hellion together or separately while Tear protected Ion during his casting.

“Invoke: Gale!” Tear said, and a circle appeared under her and Ion. Its magical properties powered and sped up Ion’s wind spells,

Anise also stayed close to Ion, knowing that the more clever hellions often targeted the casters and Ion could be knocked down by the interruption. Meanwhile, Luke took immediately to using his sword and the occasional casting as his new strategy on the field.

Guy finished off a cobra hellion with a fire channeled slash when he heard Luke’s chanting.

“Flames come forth! Burning strike!” Fire balls rained down on the remaining cobras of the group. Blue purifying light shone as the hellions evaporated.

“Wow, that was amazing Luke!” Anise gushed. She never saw any problem in stroking Luke’s ego, but then again, she never saw the fire seraph fight this way before either.

“They were weak,” Luke scoffed. “I win, you lose. Let’s get going.”

“Guy, let me heal you, you’re hurt.” Ion said, looking at the blond’s arm.

Guy looked down, not realizing there was a gash from grazing one of the hellion’s fangs, “oh, thank you Ion.”

Ion examined the wound before pressing his hands on it and a light green light glowed, “Luckily you weren’t poisoned by them. Snake hellions usually cause paralysis and poison.”

Natalia made noises of disgust while Anise stared wide eyed in fascination as Ion’s spell closed up the red line on Guy’s arm.

Ahead of them, Luke was looking down the road towards the end of the path they were currently on. The road seemed to split into two but the right side was completely blocked by boulders and debris while the left was covered by a light fog.

In the distance, at the opening mouth of the gorge, a looming tower could be seen. They were almost at Guinevere, the Tower of Wind.

* * *

 

A few hundred years ago, the Tower of Guinevere was known as a remote religious tower nestled deep within Rolance territory with a horrifying legend. People whispered that this impossibly high tower was a tribute to the heavens and a way to wipe the sins of humanity clean.

Natalia recalled in her readings, especially in Lord Mikleo’s books, that humans once believed that if they offered their lives to the seraphim by jumping from the tower, they will achieve salvation and the seraphim will offer forgiveness.

Lord Mikleo’s early writings had a tinge of someone who could hardly believe what they had to recount, and Natalia could sympathize with that. She couldn’t imagine herself ever thinking that she would want someone to commit suicide for her, let alone would she even have the ability to grant salvation because of that sacrifice.

Nowadays, humans and seraphim have established the tower with its true purpose: the Trial of Wind for any shepherds looking to hone their blessing. At the base of the tower, a human settlement has sprung up to worship the tower and the seraphim who inhabit it.

“Most wind seraphs aren’t of the settler type,” Ion explained as the group walked into the small town. “But Guinevere is a place many of them come back to as a comfortable place for them because of the wind.”

“The wind?” Anise asked.

Ion didn’t answer. Instead, he closed his eyes, a blissful expression on his face, as the wind swirled and howled around him.

“There’s an inn,” Tear said from the front of the group. “Shall we take a rest there before heading for the trial?”

Guy agreed and they entered the inn. Luke went off to find a phone to call Pere for a status update on Asch while Tear and Guy checked in at the desk to get two rooms for the evening.

Ion checked the time. It was still pretty early in the day so he asked Guy if he was up for taking on the trial.

“Pere told me about this trial,” said Guy, thinking back to his last conversation with his mentor. “I think I need to practice channeling your wind powers before we take it on.”

Ion nodded, “Alright, shall we go practice somewhere?”

“Then… Natalia, Tear, and I will go get some food! We’ll see you when you’re done!” Anise suggested, grabbing onto the two women’s arms and dragging them back into the inn.

“N-not so hard Anise!” Tear could be faintly heard protesting and they disappeared inside the stone building.

Ion and Guy went to find a secluded clearing in the town to allow Guy to run back and forth with boost of the wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #007: Luke and Natalia
> 
> Tear: Natalia, may I ask you something?
> 
> Natalia: Hm? What’s up?
> 
> Tear: Do you and Luke not get along? You seem to bicker a lot.
> 
> Natalia: I suppose you’re right. We’ve been that way since he and Asch came to Lohengrin; he's bratty and rude a lot.
> 
> Tear: Is that why you don’t like Luke? Because he can be bratty?
> 
> Natalia: And he can spoiled and bossy… No, he’s not like that all the time actually. I don’t actually dislike Luke. He is Asch’s precocious little brother and is caring in his own way.
> 
> Tear: When did you meet Luke?
> 
> Natalia: About… 5 years ago? That doesn’t sound too long… and since Asch isn’t here, I should be looking out for him.
> 
> Tear: Not that long? Well, I guess that’s to be expected of the seraphim. 5 years is practically nothing for them…


	7. The Wind and the Trial

[Guinevere Town, Tower of Wind]

 

“So Anise, you want to become a shepherd right?” Tear asked. The three women sat at a table in the inn’s restaurant with their chosen meals and drinks.

“That’s right! Well, I wanted to be one and maybe ask Lord Ion to be my Prime Lord but… I don’t think that will happen.”

“I’m sure you can after this is all over. Lord Ion is coming along to help Asch right? We seraphim don’t have rules that say we have to stay with one shepherd.”

“Yeah… You’re right, Natalia. Maybe after all this is over, I can learn to become a shepherd!”

“Anise, why don’t you start by becoming Guy’s squire with me?” Tear suggested. She didn’t see anything wrong with that idea, especially since Anise was traveling with them and was around the seraphim all the time. She had seen in battle how well Anise worked with Ion as well.

Anise thought that over in her seat, stirring her cup of flavoured milk. Before she could respond though, their table was joined by another seraph.

“And what are three pretty ladies doing all the way out here?” The seraph said, grinning at them.

“I would ask you the same question,” Tear responded drawing back a little.

Natalia turned up her nose at the suggestive voice, “We certainly don’t need to answer you.”

The seraph lifted his hands in surrender, “Hey I’m a wind seraph and this is a town for the wind. It’s practically my own backyard.”

“Oh, we didn’t mean to suggest…” Tear said, flustered.

“Hey hey don’t worry about it! A beautiful lady like you should be able to speak her mind.”

“So then Mr. Seraph, do you think I’m beautiful too?” Anise asked with a cloy look.

“Of course! All women have a unique beauty and should be appreciated as such, and no one appreciates them as much as me.”

“Then, Mr. Seraph, are you rich?”

The wind seraph looked taken aback by Anise’s question, “Huh?”

Anise smiled a crooked smile, “I will only marry someone who is rich.”

He sputtered, “Well seraphim such as me don’t offer riches, we offer adventure!”

“But Luke has a large house and he’s a seraph!”

“Luke?”

“Our Prime Lord,” Tear answered.

“Ah! A shepherd’s posse then, well where is your shepherd then, hm?”

It was at that moment that Guy and Ion walked in and joined the table.

“Hello Zaveid,” Ion greeted the seraph nonchalantly.

Zaveid stood up and slapped the former seraph lord on the shoulder, “Ion! Fancy seeing you here! How is Mik-boy’s Lohengrin treating you?”

“Very well,” said Ion, “but why are you here?”

“Can’t a wind seraph be interested in visiting his roots? We’re at the wind shrine you know!”

“Wait, you know this… shirtless seraph, Lord Ion?” Natalia interrupted.

Ion nodded and made the introductions, “This is Zaveid, a high level wind seraph. Zaveid, this is Guy, our shepherd. Tear is the squire, Natalia is going to be our earth seraph, and this one is Anise.”

Anise puffed herself up, “I am Lord Ion’s guardian!”

“Guardian eh? And a shepherd and his crew! Honoured to meet all of you.”

“Zaveid? The same Zaveid that Lord Mikleo talked about in his books?” Natalia exclaimed.

“Ah, so you read the old boy’s books huh? I am indeed the dashing and daring wind seraph the legends talk about.” Zaveid said with a smolder, “and I like a lady with both beauty and brains.”

“Ugh,” Natalia rolled her eyes and turned away with a scowl.

“It is an honour to meet you, Lord Zaveid,” Guy said, stepping forward with a bow.

Zaveid scoffed at the title with a laugh, “I may be one of those high ranking seraphs, but just call me Zaveid.”

It was at that moment that Luke entered the room, “Ginji said that Asch is doing fine… huh? Who’s that?”

“Zaveid, wind seraph, explorer of the lands and resident loveable lover!” Zaveid proclaimed in a booming voice.

“…Luke,” said Luke, looking slightly off-balanced.

“Ah, the Prime Lord I’ve heard about.”

“Y-yeah, nice to meet you I guess?”

“Ouch. Harsh.”

“Are you here with a shepherd Zaveid?” Guy asked.

“Nah, I don’t do the sublord thing anymore, but I assume that you’re all here to complete the wind trial right? Well then, I will come with you and help you out,” Zaveid said. “I am an experienced fighter after all.”

Ion and Guy exchanged looks. Then Guy looked to Luke, both of them searching for any disapproval from the other before their shepherd finally nodded. “We’d be honoured to have your help, Zaveid.”

“Excellent! I will teach you all you need to know,” Zaveid said with a leer.

* * *

 

The entire group arrived at the entrance to the tower but Zaveid stopped them before they entered the door.

“Before we start, I want to test your strength,” said Zaveid.

“My strength?” Guy asked, pointing at himself.

“Who else, shepherd. You’re the one who glues the whole group together. Without you, there is no way any of you could do a thing against the hellions.”

“Hey, I can fight!” Luke protested.

Zaveid waved his protests away, “I don’t doubt that. What I’m saying is that I will be testing the shepherd’s skill. You want to quell hellions right? Then you have to show me how strong you are.”

“Fine,” Guy replied, “let’s battle him Luke.”

“No, no.” Zaveid said, blocking Luke from walking up. “This is the wind trial. Fight me in your wind armatus, Guy.”

“What?” Anise shouted, “with Lord Ion? No!”

“Anise,” Natalia sighed.

“Hey, he has to if he wants to complete the wind trial. This is about strengthening his spiritual powers and his bond with our boy Ion here.”

After a moment of thought, Guy agreed, seeing that Zaveid was making good points and Anise’s protectiveness would not be enough to stop him.

“Is that okay with you Ion?”

“Yes.”

“Then I accept your challenge Zaveid.”

“Great,” Zaveid said, bending his knees into ready position. “Ready when you are, shepherd.”

Everyone else stood back. Ion raised his staff, blocking off Anise, knowing this was something he had to prove. Natalia and Tear had to drag her away, who still wanted to go to Ion’s side, away.

Guy raised his arm and whispered Ion’s True Name that only Luke could hear within hearing shot: “Fukium Eivu.”

Luke’s first look at the armatus was one of awe, as this was what it must have looked like when he also armatized with Guy. The wind armatus has a green and white motif with multiple blades that gleamed gold and green spreading out along the back to give the illusion of wings. Guy’s blond hair became even more light-coloured, nearly white, with a short ponytail bound close to his neck. His outfit was pure white armour with gold and green pieces lining it.

Guy’s eyes also changed from blue to green but his usual collar piece remained the same shade of green with the gold pendant hanging from it.

Natalia voiced aloud what Luke was thinking, “Wow, so that is the armatus.”

The newly-formed armatus immediately sprang into action, firing multiple blades by flapping the blade-wings and then diving down right at Zaveid with all the force of the wind.

Zaveid didn’t flinch at the combined might of Guy and Ion rocketing towards him and quickly flipped out of the way. He swung the leather belts tied around his waist and a black cord shot out, powered by the wind, and Guy barely managed to swing around to avoid being lashed by it.

As the others watched these two exchange blows, the wind continued to blow around them in all directions.

It was almost like a dance, Natalia thought to herself. Fast, deadly, but also graceful in its destruction as the winds sliced everything it hit. She could see that Guy and Ion worked well together as one entity as they soared through the air, trying to dodge and attack at the same time. Zaveid was no slouch either though. Any hits he made on Guy and Ion had them gritting their teeth in pain.

The armatus was the pinnacle fusion of the shepherd and the seraph working in unison. Natalia had a fleeting thought that she wanted to know what it would be like to fight in sync with a shepherd.

The battle finally ended when Guy made a direct hit with a rain of the wind blades that brought Zaveid to his knees. He got back up slowly while making the motion for time out and Guy dutifully came to a stop.

The elder seraph grunted, “Not bad. I think that’s enough for today.”

Guy and Ion dearmatized back into separate beings. Ion hurried over to Zaveid and immediately started healing him and then helped him up.

“Thanks Ion,” Zaveid said, dusting himself off. “Haven’t had a thrill like that in a while.”

“You all right?” Guy asked, walking up to help Ion support him. 

“Right as rain, shepherd.”

* * *

 

The inside of Guinevere, Tower of Wind, hasn’t changed much from the hundreds of years that kept the structure afloat. A few cosmetic changes such as repairing Hyanoa’s crests were made over the years by pious humans. Zaveid whistled as he glanced around the entrance, “Man it’s been a while since I’ve been here but it’s still pretty much the same as always.”

The hellions that roam the floors were mostly weak to fire and wind, as Zaveid pointed out, which played to the present seraph in the party’s strengths.

“You can stay with me, Princess.” Zaveid said to Natalia as they fended off the hellions with Tear and Luke. “Your earthly abilities won’t be as much help here.”

Natalia looked at him uncertain, “Well I can still heal or give buffs to people.”

The rogue seraph grinned, “Baby, you can buff me anytime.”

“Why does it sound so… uncomfortable coming from you?” Natalia muttered, moving a little bit away to give assistance to Tear.

A little bit away from them, Guy and Ion were trying to work together to use Ion’s wind powers to solve the tower puzzles so they could keep climbing up, but Anise was constantly getting in their way. She constantly fussed over Ion whenever a hellion got too close and could hurt him while he cast.

After stumbling through two floors of this two pronged strategy: one team clearing the hellions and the other trying to clear the way to the warp panels, Guy changed his strategy by trying to armatize with Ion.

Except… this made things worse because Anise became upset about the armatization. She started getting in Guy’s direct path while saying that the armatization puts Ion in danger. Even for mild-mannered Guy, this was beginning to slowly irritate him.

In the other group, Zaveid was able to hold off some of the bigger hellions, but Tear, Luke, and Natalia struggled to fight the other ones with Natalia not even able to deal much damage thanks to most of them having earth resistances. Luke couldn’t get away far enough to cast any huge fire spells, and Tear had to follow him to cast her buff circle _Invoke: Flame_ , to try and help. As a result, Luke only managed to create a few small bursts of flames and resorted to smacking back the hellions by swinging his sword.

Zaveid saw all of this and resisted the urge to groan. Guy was barely able to hold onto the armatus thanks to Anise’s pressure, and Tear and Luke were being overwhelmed by the really powerful hellions.

At the next floor, Zaveid blew as many of the hellions away as he could temporarily so he could talk to Tear and Luke.

“Hey, wake up you two. Are you not a squire and a Prime Lord?”

The two of them glanced at him in confusion, “Yes we are?” Tear asked instead of answering.

“Then the answer should be staring at you right in the face!”

“What answer?” Luke demanded. “I didn’t think you would talk in riddles!”

Fire-boy, you have so much to learn, Zaveid thought to himself.

“What I’m saying is that if we don’t have enough power by ourselves, then combine them. Use armatization!”

Tear stopped in her tracks, “A-armatization?” She stammered, “but I’m just a squire without sufficient training…”

Zaveid nearly choked. He would never have guessed the idea just simply didn’t occur to them.

“Tear darling, you have a naturally high resonance, I wouldn’t be surprised if you decided to become a shepherd after being Guy’s squire.”

“Really?” Tear said in surprise. She always figured it was her destiny to remain serving as a priestess with the Rolance church. The only reason she was joining with Guy was because it coincided with her mission to find out what her brother was doing.

Luke knew that the situation wasn’t ideal, but while armatization seemed like an easy answer, he didn’t want to constantly be armatizing with someone. So while Tear and Zaveid were debating about whether creating an armatus was possible, Luke spotted hellions who were getting back up and coming towards them.

He drew his sword and ran forward to fight the tiger hellions that were coming at them.

Natalia noticed Luke breaking away and cried out, “Wait Luke!”

“Hold it fire-boy!” Zaveid called, “you can’t take them on by yourself!”

From further across the floor, even Guy and Anise stopped arguing to see what all the yelling was about.

Luke didn’t hear any of them as he charged forward and swung his sword at the first hellion, the flames cleaving the beast in half. The hellion disappeared in a shower of sparks.

But what Luke didn’t see was a dragon type hellion diving above him. It opened its mouth ready to spray the seraph with fire.

Luke could hear screaming. He looked up just in time to see the jaws of a horrible monster open in front of him, and flames shooting in front of him. There was no time to react as soon as he saw the danger. The next moment was a blur as he was knocked off kilter. He felt the pain of his body crashing to the floor and flames brushing by him.

He looked up just in time to see Tear standing before him and then falling, little flames dancing all over her body. That’s when he realized what had happened. Luke scrambled to his feet to Tear’s side to tug her up. When she didn’t respond he immediately started casting, producing a red and white glow from his hand in an effort to heal Tear.

“Tear, why… why did you do that?” Luke choked on his words as he frantically worked to heal the burns that were everywhere.

Natalia came running, “LUKE! Move! Let me heal her!”

“I’ve almost got all the burns,” Luke said, gritting his teeth. “Leave that to me, Natalia.”

Zaveid flew around the downed party in a burst of wind, driving the hellions back once more. Natalia however, was standing shock still, watching Luke cast healing spell after spell. She had never seen Luke heal someone before. She didn’t think he even knew how.

“The burns are gone… Natalia, can you heal her all the way now?”

She startled when she heard Luke tell her that in a steadier voice and nodded. She created her casting circle and poured in her own healing spells on Tear, noting that Luke did a good job in curing all the burns as she soothed the rest of wounds away.

After she was done, Tear blinked, opening her eyes to see both seraphs peering at her.

“Luke,” she said softly, “You’re all right.”

“Yeah I’m fine, but you weren’t!” Luke said angrily. “You got burned really badly, why would you do that? I could’ve handled that hellion myself.”

“I… don’t know. I just know that it’s my duty to help and to protect.”

Luke took a deep sigh, trying to calm down now that the danger has passed, “But… thank you… for saving me.”

The brunette stared, surprised to hear sincere words coming from the fire seraph.

“Hello? Hellions? Trial? You lovebirds are still sitting in a warzone here!” Zaveid called from his spot on the perimeter.

“We’re not lovebirds!” Tear and Luke yelled back in sync. Zaveid just laughed as he danced past another hellion’s attack.

* * *

 

Guy came flying over in armatus form with Anise hot on his heels to assess the situation. “Luke, Tear, are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine,” Luke replied, “You should be worrying about yourself you know. We still have to get through this trial.”

“I’m trying, but Anise doesn’t want Ion involved, and this is his trial!”

Anise pointed an accusing finger, “You are charging everywhere and putting Lord Ion in danger!”

“But that’s the point of the armatus,” Guy argued. He lost his patience a long time ago when trying to get around Anise and just continued to defend himself while fighting the hellions at the same time. It was proving to be more effective since he can fly faster than Anise can run to catch up.

“You can fight from afar!” Anise brought that one up again, and Guy let out a long-suffering sigh.

“No I can’t.”

“Anise,” Ion’s voice came through the armatus as the shepherd stepped back to let his seraph take over. “I understand that you are worried about me.”

Anise sputtered, “I am! I am your guardian Lord Ion and-“

“And you’re also worried that when I armatize with Guy, you can’t see me.”

“Lord Ion, it’s not that, it’s-“

“Anise, please let me finish,” Ion said firmly. In his life experiences and from observing the dynamics of this new team, he knew there had to be a breaking point.

Guy was their shepherd, their guide and vessel through the darkness, but it was also their job as the seraphim to look after the well being of their shepherd. And in the midst of the battles, the fact that Luke and he are both outside of him was probably putting a strain on his spiritual powers, though knowing Guy, he wasn’t letting on that he was feeling that way.

At this point, Guy was also stretched to the limit by the armatus, and stressed further by the fact that he and Anise have been butting heads ever since they started armatizing.

“It is not just because you can’t see me, but also because you feel like you can’t do anything when I’m armatizing with Guy. You feel helpless during the fight.”

Anise’s protests immediately died off and she stood there without saying a word.

Ion was right, but he also wished he didn’t have to hurt Anise’s feelings to solve the problem.

For the rest of the way up the tower, Anise remained silent. Zaveid tried to cheer her up with a few flirty jokes but he wasn’t getting any response.

As the next gate lifted up, the group spotted the only door in the entire tower and headed for it realizing it was the exit. Suddenly, a great winged horse-like hellion descended from the sky. Its head was encased in a grotesque looking helmet while its dark grey wings flapped all torn and frayed.

Zaveid groaned, “Ah great, it’s a winged-armour-beast type of hellion.”

“Also known as a Pegasus hellion,” Ion added, “They aren’t very common.”

“So we have to beat that thing to get out of this stupid tower right?” Luke said, getting into his fighting stance.

Ion nodded, “Looks like its weakness is fire and resistant to water. It’s also resistant to artes so physical attacks are definitely the way to go. Natalia, can I ask you to look after Anise for this battle?”

“Sure.”

The Pegasus hellion glared down at the group with its menacing red eyes before dive bombing right at the group. Guy, Tear, Ion, and Luke stepped forward to engage with the hellion, and Zaveid provided backup.

Ion stayed in the back to try and cast but since the hellion could fly, he had to use his Flash Step ability to avoid the blades of wind thrown at them. Luke shot flames out with his sword and nimbly dodged the counterattacks while Tear and Guy ran in opposite sides to attack any openings when the hellion tries to turn.

This worked until the Pegasus flapped its wings and blew everyone back in a huge gust of wind. Guy raised his arm and called out to armatize with Ion so he can fly up and attack.

“Lord of Wind!”

Luke ran over to Tear, “Tear, do you want to try armatizing then?”

“Eh? I thought… maybe that’s why you ran from us earlier.” Tear said, bewildered. “I mean… I understand why you wouldn’t want to because you would have to share your own power.”

“That’s not why,” Luke replied, “I wanted to prove… well, I didn’t want to always rely on armatization.”

The brunette stared at him, trying to understand what that meant. “But you want to armatize now?”

“We need to beat that thing. I want to beat it, don’t you?” Luke asked. There was a determined heat in his eyes that Tear couldn’t deny. In response, she raised her hand and said, “Moqui Karmalu.”

A smug grin was the last thing she saw before Luke disappeared.

A rush of energy surged over her causing her to stagger slightly and she closed her eyes.

When Tear opened her eyes, she found herself decked in white and gold with red accents and a giant sword in her hand. Her hair was even longer and became a lighter shade and bound back by a red ribbon. She tested the sword, hefting the weight.

_Don’t try to swing it above your head._ She could hear Luke advising her in her head. _Drag it along and put all your strength into the swinging part._

Understood.

_That’s what Guy and I did because this sword is really heavy!_

Tear pushed off the ground and blasted forward into the battle. She marveled at the power that surged through her movements. With every swing, flames burst out and slammed the hellion.

Natalia and Anise watched in awe as both squire and shepherd cornered the hellion. Guy engaged the Pegasus in the air when it tried to fly away and Tear was ready with swirling flames when the Pegasus was knocked into the ground. After a few minutes of battling, the hellion was overwhelmed and disappeared.

“Yes!” Natalia celebrated, hugging and shaking Anise who also managed to smile at the victory. Guy and Tear dearmatized into four beings, and one of them fell to their knees.

Luke immediately ran over to Guy, “Guy! Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, just a little tired.”

Ion said, “We have been borrowing Guy’s powers for quite a while, including Tear’s armatization. Luke, we need to help Guy recharge.”

The two seraphim nodded at each other and disappeared, residing back inside Guy to lessen the strain.

A clapping sound startled the group, “Well I’m glad that all worked out.” Zaveid said, walking up to them, “but we still have a trial to finish.” 

After a brief struggle, Guy stood up, “Let’s go.”

* * *

 

“Well, this is a surprise.” The guardian seraph of the Wind Trial surveyed the group that stood in front of him. They couldn’t see his face through the mask but the tone of amusement came out clearly through the muffled voice. “I could sense a shepherd and company going through the tower but I wasn’t expecting you, Zaveid.”

Zaveid shrugged, “Just thought I’d give them a hand, Wardell.”

“I thought it was odd that you would do that. There must be a serious task ahead. Though, I have to say, the actual completion of the trial was… most entertaining.”

“Ha! You and me both, but… these kids did all right.” 

Wardell nodded, “They did.”

Tear stared wide eyed between the two seraphs, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Indeed,” Wardell turned to Guy. “Shepherd, I have seen your spirit and your convictions. Congratulations, you have overcome the Trial of Wind. Please, together with your wind seraph partner, kneel and give your prayers to Hyanoa.”

Ion reappeared and together with Guy, they knelt in the centre point of the tower in the direction of a small statue sitting underneath the stone and prayed.

A few moments passed and in the midst of their prayers, they suddenly armatized together signaling that the blessings were complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #008: The Divine Blades
> 
> Luke: Now that Ion is a sublord, he can armatize with Guy right?
> 
> Guy: Yes he can.
> 
> Luke: Then we need to find another divine weapon don’t we?
> 
> Guy: That’s a good point, Luke. I’m surprised you remembered that detail.
> 
> Luke: Hey! I’m a Prime Lord now! I should know these things. But…I don’t know what the divine weapon for wind is.
> 
> Ion: It’s a divine wind blade.
> 
> Guy+Luke: Whoa!
> 
> Ion: Sorry, I could hear everything you’re discussing remember?
> 
> Luke: R-right. Then where can we find one? Do you know?
> 
> Ion: Luckily I happen to have one here in the armoury.
> 
> Luke: Wow, lucky!
> 
> Guy: …too lucky maybe
> 
> \--
> 
> Skit #009: Teaching Luke (Part 2)
> 
> Luke: Whew! That wind trial was a lot of work!
> 
> Guy: I’m just glad we made it, despite the ups and downs… literally…
> 
> Natalia: So it’s time for my pact right? Let’s do it right now!
> 
> Luke: Wait, Guy, weren’t you tired?
> 
> Guy: I’ll be fine. We can form the pact and then I can black out for a while.
> 
> Ion: Well if Guy is sure. Luke, repeat after me: O ye born of the unshakeable earth-
> 
> Luke: Wait!
> 
> Natalia + Guy: Wait?
> 
> Luke: I want to use my own… oath-words.
> 
> Ion: Well, all that matters is how you channel your powers into your words so that’s fine.
> 
> Luke: Okay, here goes: O ye powerful earth, let me give my purification to you. Hence forth, we form a pact. If you agree to be my servant, recite aloud your true name-
> 
> Natalia: My true name is V- SERVANT?
> 
> *Luke and Natalia start to argue*
> 
> Ion: *sighs* He was so close.


	8. A Result of Peaceful Times

Mikleo shut his book with another sigh. The sound of the leather hitting paper made Sorey look up from his book, “No good?”

“Unfortunately there was nothing.”

“This one doesn’t have anything either, do you think we’re looking in the wrong place?”

Mikleo stood to stretch. They have been studying in Goddodin’s library all night and the morning sun started to stream through the windows.

“Maybe we’re looking at this all wrong, Sorey. What if it’s not possible to draw malevolence out through a revitalizing solution?”[i]

Sorey furrowed his brow, a look of concentration on his face. “If it’s not possible to heal the body to reject the malevolence, and it isn’t the same composition as an Anomalous Orb, then what else is there?”

Mikleo stared out the window. He could see the Goddodin school house outside, still kept immaculate after all these years because of the blessings and the pure feelings of children who carried on their wish to grow and learn. “Maybe we should find out more about the nature of the malevolence we’re dealing with.”

“Oh!” Sorey jumped excitedly, accidentally releasing a small shower of harmless sparks which scattered onto the floor. Neither of them batted an eye at them because of how often it occurred whenever the seraph got excited or enthusiastic. “You mean how Van was able to control and hold a piece of malevolent energy in his hand!”

Mikleo nodded. “I’ve heard of a seraph who likes to study the nature of malevolence. He resides in Difland[ii] so we should try Marlind’s library to see if he has written any books about it.”

“Then let’s go. We have to solve this or we won’t be able to save Asch!” And to Sorey, this one task was held highest in his heart. For seraphim and humans alike, he will work to ensure no more seraphs can turn into dragons. What came after, what Van has been doing, will be dealt with in time if he and Mikleo had anything to say about it.

As they headed for the door, Mikleo couldn’t help but comment, “I wonder how Guy and the others are doing with the trials.”

“Isn’t that why Zaveid went to help them?” Sorey tilted his head, looking at his partner with earnest eyes.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Zaveid is hard to understand sometimes but he’s always reliable.”

“Well they won’t be able to do anything if we can’t solve this problem first.”

“Eloquent as always Sorey.”

“But you love me for it.”

“Among other things.”

* * *

 

[Guinevere Town, Tower of Wind]

Before Zaveid left the group, he gave them a pair of gauntlets that he said they would soon need. Ion and Guy immediately realized that Zaveid knew who they were and what they were aiming for all along, but before they could question him, the wind seraph bid farewell and disappeared in a gust of wind.

Guy scratched his head, looking baffled, “He really is a free spirit.”

“He may be a hard seraph to read, but he doesn’t do anything without a reason. Perhaps Mikleo told him and he came to help us.” Ion speculated as they walked back into town. They were all exhausted from climbing up the tower and having to walk back down again. The moment Luke realized they would have to travel all the way back down through the puzzles they cleared earlier, he immediately disappeared back inside Guy for the whole way down.

Guy was just glad that they had cleared all the hellions earlier and they could make their way back to town without incident.

That evening, the group settled at the inn for the night. Guy immediately fell asleep but some of the others were still up.

Ion left Luke and Guy to recuperate in the room. He walked down the hallway, noting that the ladies’ door was closed and silent. Tear was probably asleep as well but likely Natalia was still up. Maybe Anise hasn’t gone to sleep yet so he went to find to see if she was around.

In the lobby, he found Anise sitting on a bench and staring out the window. She looked like she was miles away in her own head.

“Anise?”

She turned from the window and her eyes focused, “Oh hi… Lord Ion.”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Her words were without her usual cheer.

Ion sat down next to Anise and also looked out the window. It was pitch black but if he stared long enough, his eyes could adjust and make out the slight shapes of nearby roofs.

In her seat, Anise sighed loudly.

“Anise, I’m sorry for saying what I said earlier.” Ion started, but Anise shook her head.

“No, don’t… don’t apologize for being right. I’ve been on edge since we started this journey.”

“Why are you on edge?” Ion asked in concern.

“I just…” Anise shrugged, trying to find the right words. “I’m worried that we’re going through all this: fighting hellions and putting ourselves in danger, and we won’t be able to do it all. We also have to rely on Guy to stay free of malevolence and corruption right? What if he can’t do it? My job is to protect you and I feel like I can’t do that at all if he becomes corrupted or decided to take off without me.”

“Anise, I have seen you in action before. You train hard, and you study well. I know you can do a good job. You’re my guardian after all.” Ion said gently.

Anise sniffed, “I know, but next to Guy and Tear’s ability to purify hellions… I can’t do much except make sure you aren’t hurt. And now I can’t even do that.”

She looked away, “I’m a burden now.” Her voice was barely audible.

“No!” Ion exclaimed, startling Anise who rarely heard the former seraph lord raise his voice. “You are not a burden, Anise. If you want to compare with Tear and Guy, you are also as good as them: You have your heart in the right place, and you are kind, genuine, and bright.”

Anise didn’t seem cheered by it. “But in battle, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t even heal like Natalia can and she’s going to become a sublord soon.”

“Like I said, I’ve seen you battle,” said Ion. He leaned over and tapped Anise’s patched up backpack with a knowing smile, “And your tenacity. You have my support, and you have Tokunaga’s, remember? He’s with you to make sure nothing bad will happen to you.”

“But I can’t- Lord Ion, I can’t purify hellions.”

“You may not be trained to be a shepherd, Anise. But you have potential, and you should show it on this journey we’re taking. You might find the answers to the worries you have that way.” Ion stood up. “Good night Anise.”

“Good night.”

Ion disappeared upstairs to go rest inside his shepherd’s consciousness, leaving Anise to sit in the empty lobby. She stood suddenly, eyes wide in realization, causing the bench to scrape against the floor with an abrupt screech. “I’m not trained to be a shepherd?”

* * *

 

The next morning, the group exited Guinevere and then the gorge without much of an issue. The plan was to travel in the morning and reach the central lands of Rolance before they head south for the Cliffs of Aifread.[iii]

Anise seemed to be back to her cheerful self after the ordeal of the Wind Trial, and she has taken up her usual spot in battle to ward hellions off from the Spellcasters of the group. The battles went without a hitch as Guy and Tear worked with Luke and Ion in tandem to purify hellions or fend off the local wildlife, and Anise didn’t say a word against it this time.

Near the exit of the gorge, the group stopped to take a break from their trek and to form the pact.

“Guy, are you sure you’re up for this? You won’t collapse after we make the pact?” Natalia asked in concern.

“I will be fine,” Guy assured. “It’s been a while since the pact with Tear and I’m really getting used to using the shepherd’s powers.”

Natalia nodded, a determined glint in her eyes.

Luke stepped forward, ready to form the next sublord pact.

“O powerful earth, let me give my purification unto you. Hence forth, we will form a pact. If you agree upon these terms, recite aloud your true name.”

The warm light bathed over Natalia as Luke poured his powers over the new connection forming between them. She closed her eyes to feel the contract's power coming into contact with her seraphic essence and connecting it to the purifying flames. It felt comforting and pure as they mingled. Finally, her power began to feel settled and centered around Guy’s being.

Natalia spoke firmly, “Vareik Vasamea.”

Ion passed over the divine gauntlets to her and it vanished together with the light.

“So are we done?” Anise asked, tapping her foot and feeling a little impatient. “Let’s get going.”

Out of the gorge came the gentle rolling plains of the Rolance Empire’s main land, also known as the Pearloats Pasture. The pasture divided into separate lands mostly for farmland, but the roads were paved in neat orderly fashion, and there were small farming villages.

After picking their way down the first steep slope, the group landed at the plateau of another long hill. Anise rushed to the edge and stopped right there. Tear and Guy followed to take in the scene off the ledge of the Pearloats’ rolling hills.

Guy could see the huge stone walls of Pendrago in the distance, but their true goal was to reach the next trial and luckily, the Earth Shrine was also located in Rolance territory. He looked to the right to see if he could spot the trail that lead to the Cliffs of Aifread, the farthest end of the continent. He spotted a trail wedged between two huge borders and pointed it out for Anise and Tear.

 _You are right, Guy, that must be the right path._ A female voice echoed in their space, causing Guy to flinch back in surprise. The voice echoing inside his head was quite loud.

_Do you sense something Natalia?_

_Yes. I don’t know how to explain it because I’ve never been there before but… I can feel a pulse of energy coming in that direction._

“A pulse of energy?” Tear asked, fascinated.

_Faintly, but it’s there._

_Then come on, we know where we’re going. Let’s go already._

On the back of Luke’s impatient insistence, the three humans trekked all the way down the hill to find the trail. With Natalia’s direction, they found it easily and continued onwards. Past the rocks, they came upon a bright open plain. The air smelled of a mix of fresh grass with a salty aftertaste.

Anise ran with delight in the direction of the edge to get her first ever look at the sea and Tear wasn’t too far behind. They both stood at the point of the cliff and let the sea breeze flow through them. From a little further back, Guy leaned against a boulder and felt all three of his seraphim leave his consciousness and materialize beside him.

Luke looked around the area. It was a rather narrow area bumped up against an unclimbable bed of rock with the other side a drop off the cliff and into the sea. He looked back at his travel companions to find that Natalia seemed to be staring down the path as though in a trance.

It seemed they were getting close to the Earth Trial.

Along the path they took, there were wildlife hellions but they were sparse and few. After a few battles, they found that a majority of them were weak against earth and some of them even cast earth artes, meaning they were weak against Ion’s wind.

Natalia threw her crystal knives that she spelled to be able to duplicate and return back to her. Sometimes, she threw them with a follow-up spell with rock stalagmites jutting out of the earth and piercing the hellions from below. She was a mid-range fighter who slotted into the team easily, covering the space between Guy and anyone covering the back.

Luke ended up being in fewer battles than he expected this time, and Ion warned him that likely the earth temple wouldn’t have many enemies weak against fire either. This time it was up to Ion and Natalia to do most of the heavy hitting though Luke also complained loudly when too many battles have gone by and he didn’t get to participate.

At the next corner they turned, there was a caravan with its people and resting on the grass. They confirmed that they were also on the way to Morgause and that the group was going in the right direction.

“You can’t really miss it,” said one of the merchants. “It has a huge brown gate with the symbol of a bull on it.”

“A bull?” Tear repeated in confusion as they walked away. “Are they sure it’s a bull?”

“They seem certain that it is,” said Guy with a shrug. They will probably find out when they get there.

At the far end of the Cliffs of Aifread, they found a neat stone path line with carved out pillars. As they followed along, the surrounding colours turned deeper and the greenery faded away. Guy stepped onto the dusty floor and came face to face with a massive clay-stone door. Above the door was a circular emblem of a creature with horns.

Anise waved her arm at the emblem, “Hey what do you know? It is a bull! That means we’re here.”

“So this is Morgause,” said Tear apprehensively, “Our next trial.”

All of the seraphim materialized next to them with their weapons summoned. Guy held a hand to the door, ready to push it. “Be prepared for anything,” he warned.

Everyone nodded.

The heavy door creaked open, and they all stared in shock at the sight in front of them.

* * *

Morgause, also known as the Trial of the Earth.

Hundreds of years ago, the seraphim built this earthly shrine for shepherds and earth seraphs to hone their powers under the guidance of Eumacia, Great Seraph of the Earth.

Except… when the shepherd party got there, it turned into what looked like an entertainment district.

Anise was the first one to react, running in excitedly and taking in the sights. The rest of the group followed at a slower pace but were still surprised at what they saw.

There were colourful banners everywhere, stalls set up, and signs everywhere advertising bars, cafes, clubs, theatres, anything you can think of. The number of visitors and vendors were few, presumably most of the activities happened in the evening so fewer people were on the streets during the day.

“Is this… is this the right place?” Tear asked, perplexed.

“This looks fun,” said Luke, staring at one banner announcing a karaoke night.

“Right? Luke, we should go do karaoke!” Anise said.

Natalia crossed her arms, a look of displeasure gracing her face. “This is the earth trial alright. I can feel it, but… they’ve desecrated this place!”

Guy rubbed his chin in thought, “I can’t imagine that this could all be happening under the nose of the seraph guardian. Let’s search for them.”

After a few mishaps where the group found themselves walking in circles, and then discovering new paths hidden by massive signs, they came upon a large building in the back. Inside it was a shop for… women’s clothing.

“That’s…” Tear trailed. She was staring at a low cut shirt with horror.

Natalia was staring at another set for a different reason: They were traditional seraphim clothing but were also designed in a low cut hanging on the rack in different elemental colours and her anger spiked. “Who owns this place?” She demanded.

“Visitors!” A voice boomed out from the back of the little shop, “Welcome!”

The guys spun around to see a masked seraph strolling out from behind the racks.

The seraph stopped and took another look at the group, “A shepherd group? I haven’t seen one for a long time.”

Guy stepped forward, “Are you the seraph in charge of this shrine?”

“Why yes! I am Pawan, and wow,” the seraph surveyed the group, “what a lovely group you have here, with two loverly ladies.”

“He sounds and looks kind of creepy,” Anise whispered to Natalia beside her.

“Uh,” Luke trailed, not sure what to say, “Then, what happened to the trial?”

“Oh, the trial? Right, the trial! Uh….” Pawan trailed, tapping his chin.

Natalia strode forward, “Yes, where is the trial? This is supposed to be my turn.”

“Well, since this place has changed into what I call the new entertainment capital, there isn’t much of a trial.”

“What?!” Natalia screeched indignantly. Tear reached over to tap her arm in concern that the seraph might just fly at the shrine guardian and claw his mask off. Out of pure indignation at the indignity.

“Really?” Guy asked, “Then how do we obtain the blessings?”

Pawan shrugged, “There isn’t much malevolence nowadays… but! Finding this place is in of itself a trial.”

Natalia folded her arms sardonically, “So this is a trial in traffic jams?”

“Well it was pretty well-hidden,” said Guy considering, “We wouldn’t have known it was here without your help, Natalia.”

“Ah! You have quite the sense for the Earthpulse then, my lady.” Pawan said with a small bow and then waved to a path behind him. “Right, head on down those stairs and then pray at the altar.”

“Thank you Pawan,” Guy said with a nod. Luke and Ion disappeared with a flash of light inside Guy and he made his way down with Anise at his heels. Natalia and Tear eyed Pawan, who waved at them with a gleeful smile, with caution as they also followed their shepherd down the stairs.

The alter was a huge circular room fashioned similarly to the Wind Trial’s version on top of the tower. It was constructed entirely of solid stone and carved with small decorative patterns. They walked to the center and noticed the stone statue in the frame on the other side.

“Well this one was easy,” said Anise, strolling around and staring at the high walls and ceiling. “I’m glad we don’t have to do much.”

No sooner did she say that, a sudden intense domain invaded Guy’s senses and he almost fell over.

“Guy?” Tear noticed immediately, running over. Before she could reach out, Guy stepped back.

“I’m f-fine. There’s a powerful domain all of a sudden.”

Natalia also felt it. It was a familiar oppressive feeling. “This is a hellion’s domain,” she said.

“A hellion?” The group chorused together.

From behind them, Pawan entered the room.

“Oh I forgot about that one,” said Pawan, scratching his head. “Woops.”

A massive mud coloured golem materialized in the middle of room, landing with a thud that sent vibrations through the floor. Its arms, fists, legs, and torso were all equal to each other, being massive spikes of rocks. In contrast, its head could hardly be seen among the bulk.

The guardian seraph hunched over and sighed in exasperation, “That thing tends to show up whenever bar brawls broke out.”

“Then it’s a golem made of aggression?” Tear asked.

“More like envy, jealousy, and lust. All the usual vices of those who take their fun a little too far.” Pawan answered. “Good luck shepherd,” he disappeared.

Natalia stepped forward in determination, “Now this is more like a trial, let’s go!”

“Looks like its weakness is wind,” said Ion, materializing once again to assess the hellion. “And is resistant to fire and water.”

Guy rushed forward to slash at the golem and keep it occupied from the casters. The golem moved slowly and it was easy for them to dodge the attacks. Ion was able to unleash his spells at a safe vantage point so Anise stayed off to the side and merely kept an eye on the golem’s movements and warning anyone within range of an impending attack. 

Anise yelled at Tear to get out of the way but it was too late. The golem managed to smack her, flinging her through the air and she crumpled to the floor. Seeing this, Natalia immediately stepped back and started another casting circle.

“Life, gather and come to me: Cure!” A golden light surrounded Tear, closing up her scrapes. She got back up gratefully, and started casting her own buff on Natalia.

“Invoke: Ground!” Tear created a glowing circle around Natalia and Natalia started casting Air Pressure.

“Stay down, Air Pressure!” said Natalia, and a ring of air burst around the hellion, pushing it down harshly. It got back up clumsily, but the knock back delayed it enough to allow everyone but to jump back and put some distance between them.

The golem was slow but packed quite a punch when it landed one. Ion called for everyone to step out of the way of his next attack while he started another casting circle.

“Winds, heed my call, and bear down your divine force.”

Ion twirled his staff back and forth with graceful ease and a large circle began to glow underneath the hellion. He slammed the bottom of his staff into a ground, and a swirl of wind gathered within the circle.

“Sovereign Gale!” Ion finished canting, and the swirling force surged upward and engulfed the hellion, slicing it in all directions. The force was strong enough to even lift the heavy rock-based hellion a few centimeters off the ground, stunning it.

Taking this opportunity, Guy sprang forward to call for Natalia and use the new armatus.

“Earth Lord!”

The earth armatus took on an orange and white colour scheme. Instead of a large sword or wing blades, two solid blocks appeared hovering over Guy’s arms in the form of large rock fists that glowed with a lava-like shine.

“Rampaging Giant!” A blend of his voice and Natalia’s voice called out as Guy slammed both his fists into the golem and the final blow quelled it. Suddenly, the armatus broke apart with Guy and Natalia falling on the floor.

“What happened?” Tear asked, running up to them.

“It wasn’t me, Guy lost control.”

“S-sorry,” Guy said sheepishly. “I just forgot how close Natalia is to me when we armatize…”

Tear tilted her head in confusion, “I’m afraid I don’t understand. Armatization is a fusion so of course Natalia has to be with to you.”

Anise skipped over to the group and revealed, “That’s because Guy is afraid of women! He gets scared when they get too close.”

Tear blinked, and then she gasped.“ EH? You’re scared of women?” Well, that actually explained the rather sudden reactions he makes whenever she came close to him, or why he had pressed himself against of the wall of the carriage on the Camelot Bridge.

“Y-Yeah…” Guy stammered, embarrassed that this weakness of his was discussed out in the open.

“He is! Watch this!” Anise said, jumping right on top of Guy who was still sitting on the floor.

“GAAAAAH!” With a loud yelp, Guy shoved Anise and scrambled to his feet to get to the other side of the room, as far away as possible. Anise simply giggled and sprawled out on the floor from where she was dumped, looking unconcerned that she fell there. 

Pawan reappeared on the floor with a chuckle. “Well, that was certainly an interesting ending, Shepherd. But, you quelled the hellion and so… you passed the trial. You can receive the earth blessing of Eumacia.”

Guy straightened himself up, trying to return to the bearing of a semi-respectable shepherd. He smiled sheepishly, “Thanks.”

* * *

 

[i] In this case, the ‘solution,’ they were trying to find was a possible potion-type solution for Asch to swallow. Thus, the solution to solve all their problems!

[ii] Difland was formerly Hyland before the name was changed to honour the Diphda family and all the work they and their descendants have done over the centuries, adhering to their first Queen’s teachings and convictions.

[iii] Formerly Aifread’s Hunting Grounds, but once it has been settled, they renamed it the Cliffs of Aifread. This was done so that people do not mistake it as someone’s private grounds anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #010: A Fear Both Serious and Funny
> 
> Tear: Anise, why is Guy afraid of women?
> 
> Anise: Huh? Well… I don’t know why. He just is. 
> 
> Guy: Yes, that’s why.
> 
> Tear: Whoa! Guy, I wasn’t expecting you to show up at all!
> 
> Guy: *sighs* I don’t remember the reason why. I’ve just been this way for as long as I can remember.
> 
> Luke: He jumps the highest if you touch him from the back though.
> 
> Anise: Yeah, like this! *leaps onto Guy’s back*
> 
> Guy: GAAAAH!!! GET OFF ME!
> 
> Skit #011: Zaveid’s Report
> 
> Sorey: Zaveid! How did everything go at the Wind Trial?
> 
> Zaveid: Man, I haven’t had to let loose like that in a while. And those babes… they were true babes.
> 
> Mikleo: Is there anything useful you have to say?
> 
> Zaveid: Yeah yeah, I’m getting there, Mikster. As usual, you’re ever so serious.
> 
> Mikleo: Because this is serious! That group is working very hard to cure Asch you know.
> 
> Sorey: And we might have to face another dragon tragedy if we don’t succeed.
> 
> Zaveid: I get you, my gentle shepherd. It went like this: We had some trouble with so many personalities in the group but thanks to my wise guidance, the wind trial was a success.
> 
> Mikleo: Thanks to you?
> 
> Sorey: Thanks for your help Zaveid. 
> 
> Zaveid: Anytime.
> 
> \--
> 
> I normally don't keep my footnotes in the story but I thought maybe this time they will help explain some things.


	9. Interlude - Digging the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ((Sorry for the late update, personal life has been a bit... hectic...))
> 
> ((Edit: 10/4 omg this was sitting in my drafts for the longest time and I never hit update, I am so so sorry for not noticing!))

Marlind was a historical city that has withstood the rigours of time for centuries. As a city long known for being the central hub for scholars, it has a vast store of books, resources, as well as educational museums and various galleries for showcasing historical masterpieces. At the centre was a massive tree, said to be symbolizing the fruit of knowledge and one of strongest sources for the blessing. It was no wonder that Marlind had the best schools and universities in the land and people from both kingdoms flocked to it to admire and learn in this flourishing city.

Normally, a visit to this beautiful town meant Sorey and Mikleo could be found at the Marlind University debating with the scholars but today, they turned onto a different path and headed for the library. However, it wasn’t too unusual to see the Grand Seraphim going to the library either so the two of them merely had to make plans to sneak past any scholars who might recognize them while inside.

At the door though, they met someone they didn’t think they should avoid.

“Miss Yulia!” Sorey exclaimed, waving to the woman closing the front door.

“Ah, Lord Sorey and Lord Mikleo,” Yulia greeted as she gracefully stepped down the stairs, “What brings you here? More research? A lecture today perhaps?”

Mikleo shook his head, “Not today, we need to do some discrete research and we need it urgently.”

“Oh, maybe I can be of assistance? I just signed out of a private study room so it should still be free for your use.” Yulia offered, “Or perhaps help point you in the right direction for resources?”

“Can we say yes to both?” Sorey asked hopefully.

Yulia’s laugh was a tinkling sound, “Yes of course, Lord Sorey. This must be urgent if you are asking that. Please follow me.”

The three of them entered a small little room with a table and a board set up for any scholars who needed peace and privacy.

Yulia folded her arms gracefully on the table and leaned forward, “So what is this about?”

Mikleo explained to her about how a malevolent ball was forced into a seraph and it left them in an unconscious state instead of turning into a hellion.

“So while Shepherd Guy is working hard to obtain the power to quell a level of malevolence that high… Sorey and I have the task of removing that malevolence to be able to purify it. But… we aren’t sure what to look at.” Mikleo concluded.

Yulia leaned back in her chair, arcing back gracefully as she sighed.

“A ball of malevolence,” she mused. “It sounds familiar.”

Sorey straightened up from where he was leaning against the table at those words, “really?”

Yulia sighed again, “Both of you, more than anyone, understand my position and what I am allowed to tell you.”

“We know,” said Mikleo. “We are grateful for anything you can tell us. Anything at all.”

Yulia turned away, a faraway look in her eyes.

“My ancestor,” she finally said. “You may find your answers there.”

Sorey frowned, “Then we need to go back to Lohgrin?”

Yulia shook her head, “Further back, even further back. My ancestry line started in an ancient town.”

“And… does this town still exist?” Mikleo asked, feeling apprehensive. He had a bad feeling about this.

“It does,” said Yulia, “It is now called Pendrago City.”

* * *

 

“Sorey, we have to go there.” Mikleo chided.

The two seraphs stood just outside the gates of Marlind after waving goodbye to their friend. A sense of reluctance hung over their heads as they contemplated their next course of action.

“I don’t like it,” Sorey finally said, crossing his arms.

“We don’t have any other choice. We will have to go to Pendrago and hope that no one notices us.”

“I know I know.”

Traveling back to Rolance territory was easy for two well-known seraphim, and they jumped past the borders and skipped past the towns to go straight to the capital city.

“I have a feeling that our information isn’t going to be easy to find,” Mikleo finally said after traveling the entire time in silence.

“I don’t know about that. I think the information might be easy. It's getting in that will be the problem,” Sorey replied.

Mikleo paused in his steps, causing Sorey to pause too. “But?”

Sorey tilted his head in that exact way that Mikleo has known him to do. “But what?”

“No ‘but I’m sure we’ll find a way?’”

“Did I… do I usually say that?”

Mikleo shook his head, feeling like he made a mistake. “Never mind, it’s not important.” He walked on ahead, leaving Sorey to stare after him with a crestfallen look on his face.

His memories were still faulty to this day it seemed.

* * *

 

Pendrago City was the largest city of the Rolance Empire. Known for its grand and elaborate stone architectures, it has carried the name of The Blessed Capital for many centuries. The city has become so immense that they constructed an entire new wing of the city aptly named New Pendrago. It was this entrance that Sorey and Mikleo used to enter the city in the hopes of minimizing recognition by the Shrinechurch which was located in Old Pendrago. Unfortunately, their goal was the Shrinechurch library so this strategy would only get them halfway.

The last time they were here, Mikleo remembered a lot of indignant shouting and arguing inside. For many years, an organization has existed since the beginnings of human-seraphim relations on the subject of resonance. This organization has both grown and waned over the years and they called themselves the Remnants. They called for equality for people with low resonance and often resented the Shrinechurches and Cathedrals.

Sorey and Mikleo were two of the seraphim who quietly sympathized with the Remnants’ core beliefs. Over the years, they found that Rolance’s Shrinechurch institution has tightened the reigns on the qualifications of who can become a priest or a shepherd. For many who entered the service of the church with the aspiration to become one or the other, it became extraordinarily difficult. If born under these circumstances, Sorey wouldn’t have got the chance to become one of the greatest shepherds in history if he were still human and living in Pendrago today. The scrutiny was immense, and led to many people being left out of the church due to one arbitraty reason or another. Resonance levels played a huge deciding role but there were many other reasons too.

And if you had little to no resonance, access to the church and to the seraphim was made nearly impossible.

Rolance’s current Pope, Pope Mohs, has an old-fashioned way of thinking for how seraphim and humans should interact: that it was the Shrinechurch’s duty to communicate the will of the seraphim to the people. As a result, he sneered at seraphim who tried to talk to the common people instead of a church member. While there were always seraphim residing in the Shrinechurch to give their blessing, Mohs was constantly appealing to Sorey and Mikleo to take up residence in the church as well, thinking it would elevate their Empire’s blessing and prestige further.

This clash in ideals and beliefs between the Shrinechurch, the Grand Seraphim, and then the Remnants who never stopped protesting, eventually resulted in the trial of a Remnant member who was sentenced to prison. Privately, Mikleo never agreed with this sentence because the entire issue could have been solved if he or Sorey went to talk to the Remnant member, but Pope Mohs absolutely refused that solution. Behind closed doors, there was much debate and arguing, and eventually the Grand Seraphs left the city to cool off and then simply never returned since.

It was an incident that he wasn’t very proud of but even the Seraphim were not above letting the emotions get the better of them and both he and Sorey had taken turns dealing with that. They would eventually have to go back and try and settle their issues before they fester, but for now, there were other bigger problems than soothing the egos of the Shrinechurch.

“Mikleo, you were thinking about our last time here weren’t you?” Sorey said gently, “We’re already here.”

Mikleo jumped. He was so lost in thought that he hadn’t realized that he had been absently following Sorey all the way to the back end of the Shrinechurch building.

There was no one nearby.

“I think we caught a break,” said Sorey, looking around. “I heard some priests talking about an event they had to go to.”

Mikleo let out a small breath. A lucky break indeed.

They entered the library with a soft thud and waved to the librarian hunched over the desk. Night was falling in Pendrago and the front of the library’s lamps turned on, but the back areas slowly got too dark to see. Sorey found a few reading lights and then some candles. He sparked the candles into small flames with ease and placed them all around.

“Miss Yulia said it would be in her ancestors’ books right?” Sorey whispered. The eerie quiet of the library in the dark had him on edge.

“We’ll have to comb everything, including the archives,” Mikleo whispered back, “Trying looking under the letter M.”

“Got it.”

They split up to different parts of the library to begin the very long search inside the huge institution. Many of the books have been spelled by seraphim to prevent wear and tear on them. Sorey himself spelled his beloved copy of the Celestial Record to do the same, as well as countless protection spells on the scroll he uses as a casting medium.

Book after book was pulled and then slotted back to the shelves. Mikleo’s habit was to pull a stack of books, go through them methodically at the desk before putting them all back. Sorey on the other hand tended to sway back and forth near the shelves with as many books in his hands as possible while skimming them quickly and then realizing he has wandered away and would need to go back to return the book.

As Mikleo put away the next book with much result, he rubbed his eyes and blurrily looked around the dark bookshelves with the occasional spots of glowing light.

It was going to be another series of long nights in yet another library. It’s a good thing Seraphim don’t need to eat or sleep if they were completely absorbed with their task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #012: The New Lord of Lohengrin
> 
> Luke: Hey Ion, can I ask you something?
> 
> Ion: Of course you can.
> 
> Luke: How do you maintain your blessing for Lohengrin when we’re so far away?
> 
> Ion: I can’t. I am not the Lord of the Land anymore.
> 
> Luke: Huh?
> 
> Ion: I agreed to be your sublord so my essence was transferred to Guy.
> 
> Luke: Oh right! Then what’s going to happen to Lohengrin?
> 
> Ion: I asked Florian to take over.
> 
> Luke: Florian as in your brother? Wait can any Seraph become a Lord of the Land?
> 
> Ion: Yes, though it may take some time and effort, any Seraph with an attachment to the land can attain a high level of blessing to produce an effective domain.
> 
> Luke: Then even I can become a Seraph Lord someday?
> 
> Ion: If you wanted to, yes.


	10. Entering Water Land

[Shurrey Village, Rolance Territory]

While the rest of the group enjoyed their meal at the tiny inn they were staying at, Luke shut himself in the room he shared with Guy and Ion. He toyed with a ring in his hand, Mieu’s vessel, and the normin came out with a worried look.

“Master, why are you up here by yourself?”

“I was thinking of contacting Asch.” Luke replied.

The normin thought for a moment and nodded, “Okay!”

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the connection he held with Asch in his mind. Some years ago, when both of them were still learning how to utilize this power, it wasn’t long before they realized it was an ability that the Seraphim normally do not have. While they did wonder why it was that only they had this ability, eventually they accepted that it might just be part of their nature as twin seraphim. After all, if you looked past the slightly different shades of red hair (and Luke had the lighter tips than his brother), they looked very much alike and they knew they came into existence at the same time.

It was also around that time that they agreed not to tell anyone about it. Asch believed it was necessary for safety and they could also protect each other this way.

Luke simply thought it was exhilarating to have a secret of his own to guard.

But the habit of keeping it secret stuck and now Luke excused himself from the dinner to find time alone to open his mental link with Asch. He wanted to tell him everything that has happened so far, if his older brother was awake.

_So let me get this straight: You, a complete newbie at purification, became a Prime Lord to Guy, and now you’ve even dragged Natalia and Ion with you to go and complete these trials?_

_Ah… yes?_

_Are you insane? You are more foolish than I thought!_

_You… argh… shut up! I’m trying to help you!_

_And you’re doing a good job of it by putting yourself in danger, and not knowing what you’re doing! As usual!_

_Well I’d rather be the one in danger than have to see you turn into a dragon!_

_…Dragon?_

_Yeah! A dragon! Sorey said the malevolence inside you is as strong as a dragon’s. Aren’t you the one who told me a dragon is irreversible?_

_…No one… not even the Grand Seraphs, have found a way to turn a seraph back from a dragon._

_Then you should understand why I have to do this!_

_…I don’t like this._

_Duh, I figured that out at least. But we don’t have a choice. Guy is our best chance!_

_Then, keep me updated at least. This malevolence might be keeping me under but I can talk here easier than before._

_Really? Great! Well, we’re done with Wind and Earth, and now we’re going to find a Water Seraph and then we can complete the Water and Fire trials, and then purify that malevolence inside you._

_…Fine._

_Go to sleep, brother. I can tell that you can’t stay awake anymore._

_Fine…_

There was a knock on the door, “Luke?” Guy’s voice came through muffled. “Are you okay?”

Luke balanced Mieu on one knee, “I’m fine, you can come in.”

Guy opened the door with a confused expression, “You don’t normally leave dinner.”

The seraph looked away, “I just… wanted to be alone for a while.”

“Worried about Asch?”

“…Yeah.”

Guy sat on the bed with a small smile, “Between you and Natalia’s determination, and all of our help, I know we can save him.”

“And I will help too!” Mieu said, raising his hand.

Luke hid a small grin. He was together with Guy and Mieu, and Asch seemed to be fine. For the moment, all was right in his world.

* * *

Past Shurrey Village was another wide open field. Spiral structures were reconstructed in the corners of the land to receive communication and electric lines. These towers that were once relics have been repurposed to allow electricity to flow between towns. In the old days, this place used to be a battlefield and was called the Meadow of Triumph. Now, the humans chose to call it by a different name: the Meadow of Awakening. It was here that some two hundred years ago that people gathered to observe the white light shooting into the sky. This vast endless plain provided uninhibited views of all the surroundings, without having to trek up a mountain or navigate to Elysia Village that is.

Guy stared up at one of the towers, an eager look in his eyes. Luke turned away for one second from the battle he and the others were engaged in to notice Guy staring wistfully at the tower.

“We could use your help you know! Stop staring at that tower!”

“But… it’s such beautiful technology. The latest updates they made to it…”

“GUY! Hello? Shepherd duties? Kicking hellion butt?”

“Alright alright,” Guy huffed, tearing his gaze from the tower and entering the fray with his sword raised.

Natalia stared perplexed at one of the hellions: a small diminutive creature pushing a cart around and shooting arrows at them. “These hellions are really weird looking.”

Luke scoffed, “They’re pretty weak to spells though Ion said!” He spotted a group of large wingless bird hellions marching straight at him and he quickly set up another spell.

“Burn, burn, burn! Flare Vortex!” He chanted, and the flames ignited around him as a mini flaming tornado blew up, scorching the ground and spitting out fireballs from the top like a spout. The bird hellions were quickly swept up in the flames and destroyed all at once.

“Wow! You’re getting strong, Luke!” Anise exclaimed.

Luke turned to her with a smug grin, twirling his sword around.

“Not to sound punny, but you’re really on fire today,” Guy said, also grinning madly.

Luke whipped around to glare at his shepherd, “Haha, like I haven’t heard that one before,” he deadpanned. Everyone laughed good-naturedly as they moved on from the Meadow of Awakening towards the uphill trek to the gates of the next town.

In Lastonbell, they didn’t stay long; just long enough for a meal before they were out the other set of gates. They still had a ways to go before they can reach the border to the next country, Difland.

After walking through Volgran Forest, the three humans found themselves in the sloping valleys of the Midgand Highlands.

“Are we almost at the checkpoint? I’m getting tired,” Anise whined, her feet trudged through the grass at a pace that got slower and slower.

“I… don’t know this area, Anise.” Tear admitted, “So I don’t know how far we have to go.”

Hearing that, Anise put on a burst of energy to reach the top of the next hill so she can look into the distance. She spotted the fortress that was built to indicate the borders and divided the two kingdoms.

“Ah! I see it! We’re not too far away.”

“Great, then shall we get going Guy? Guy?” Tear turned around to see that their shepherd had stopped and seemed to be lost in thought.

_Guy? Earth seraph to Guy, are you there?_

_There are no towers around here, what are you doing?_

At hearing his seraphs’ voices, Guy was startled, and he started moving again.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

But as they made their way down a steep slope to reach checkpoint, Guy looked back at the Rolancian side of the valley; one of the paths that they passed by earlier seemed eerily familiar to him.

* * *

 

The Kingdom of Difland was Rolance’s neighbor. Situated on a lower land mass and practically at water level, its people had a close connection with water. It both surrounded their land and flowed through it as well.

When they passed the checkpoint and entered the grassy area known as the Falkewin Hillside, they paused to sit down against the hill to rest and decide the next course of action. Anise pulled out boxes of food that she packed from Lastonbell and passed them over to her human companions.

Ion, Luke, and Natalia reappeared to join them on the grass and take in the new surroundings. Down the next path, there was a large gated wall that leads to what looked like a town. If Luke looked more closely, he could see behind the gate that there were massive tree branches peeking out from the top.

“So how do we search for a Water Seraph?” Anise asked as she scooped up some rice, “I mean, Luke, Natalia, and Lord Ion came with us from the beginning, so…”

“Perhaps we can ask the local Lord of the Land for guidance,” Ion suggested. “They usually know about the status of their domain the best, and may be able to recommend a water seraph who would be willing to help.”

“Who is the Seraph Lord for this area?” Tear asked.

Ion thought for a moment, going through his memory. “The area we are standing in is the domain of Rohan. He is an elderly seraph who uses the Great Tree of Marlind as his vessel.”

Luke pointed at the gate he was staring at earlier, “Is that Marlind?”

“Yes,” Ion said, but before anyone could move or say anything, large thumps could be heard, and then the ground began to vibrate. The group whirled around to see a large crowd of people stampeding across the field right in front of them. All of the people were brandishing weapons of different. They turned around the next corner and vanished out of sight.

“What was that?” Natalia asked, bewildered.

“I heard their words,” said Ion. He was frowning as he listened to the wind. “They were saying something about a Lord needing their help.”

“Should we check it out then?” Guy asked.

“Why? It’s none of our business,” said Anise.

“It is, if it turns out to be a hellion.” Guy replied. Ion agreed as well and said it didn’t seem to be very far from them. They packed up their meals and started walking in the same direction as the crowd of people earlier, but as they got closer, they heard booming sounds and sped up their movement.

“Come on!” Luke called, quickly taking the lead. They rounded the next corner along the path and came to a stop at the sight in front of them.

Over a very wide river, there was a showdown going on between a longhaired seraph and what looked like a huge serpentine creature with multiple heads. Standing next to the creature was…

“Master Van!” Luke yelled in surprise.

Van heard Luke’s voice and turned to look at the group in recognition, before he retreated to the other side of the bridge, and walked away.

“Hold it!” The longhaired seraph called, turning to go after Van but the path on the bridge was blocked by the creature.

“What is that thing?” One of the humans in the crowd said. They had gathered at the base of the bridge, brandishing their weapons.

“My Lord, can we do anything to help?” Another one called out to the bridge.

“No, this is a dangerous hellion! All of you stay back!” The seraph commanded, and reached out front of them to summon a small unidentifiable object. The item in their palm started to glow a bright red light as the seraph created a casting circle, glowing intensely.

“Shouldn’t we help?” Luke said to Guy.

Guy observed the scene for a moment and said, “That hellion looks really dangerous and that seraph won’t be able to purify it on their own.”

“It’s a Hydra,” said Ion, ever knowledgeable about hellions. “They aren’t weak against any specific elements but are resistant to water.”

Guy agreed that they should help, and the group started running down the path to the bridge. As they ran, they watched the Hydra lash out with its head but it hit an invisible wall that shined and shimmered the seraph’s red light, preventing the hellion from interrupting the spell.

They arrived at the base of the bridge just as the seraph finished chanting.

“O darkening storm clouds, loosen thy blade, and run mine enemies through with divine fury… Tear them apart with your blades of lightning.”

Luke stopped in his tracks, noticing that the clouds above them have become a darkened grey. A roar rang in their ears and the light surrounding the casting circle intensified. The seraph clutched their object with both hands and looked to the sky.

There was a crackle in the air as long glowing blades appeared, one by one, forming a circle in the sky.

“Thunder Blade!”

The blades came crashing down, impaling all of the Hydra’s necks from above. Luke recalled seeing a similar spell that Sorey used, but it wasn’t as intense as this. It was utter annihilation. The resulting crash kicked up a huge cloud of dust and debris and everyone turned away to cover their eyes.

“Did… is the hellion…” Luke trailed, unable to find the words. He looked back to the bridge and the hellion was nowhere to be seen. There was also a huge gap in bridge the river running underneath was now visible in the middle.

“What happened to the Hydra?” Natalia asked, looking around the area, trying to see if it had fallen into the river. There was no sign of the malevolence hanging in the air anymore either. In front of them, the seraph seemed to be face-palming.

“Oya… I seem to have overdone it.” The seraph muttered.

Guy stepped forward, “Did you kill that hellion?” He asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.

“Oh a shepherd’s party I see.” The seraph turned to face the group. He looked to be male with long straight silvery hair, and somewhat unsettling ruby red eyes framed by silver glasses. Around his neck was a thin necklace chain and he held the end up against his chest. As he walked closer, he released his fist and they could see a bright red amulet dangling down from the chain.

“Did you?” Luke asked, accusingly.

“That hellion wasn’t alive to begin with,” the seraph said. “Were you planning to purify it?”

“Of course, it’s our duty,” Natalia retorted.

“Well, don’t bother with this one.” The seraph said dismissively.

“What? Then you did kill it!” Tear gasped.

“As I’ve already said, that hellion wasn’t alive to begin and calling for a shepherd would be an unnecessary hassle.”

Luke looked confused, “How do you know that?”

The seraph sighed and pushed up his glasses, “That hellion was a manifestation of pure malevolence. I sensed it in my domain first and followed it here.”

“Domain?” Guy said, “Then you must be…”

“Why yes I am Jade, Seraph Lord of Ladylake, at your service,” the seraph said with an elegant bow.

Anise elbowed her way forward and interrupted the conversation, “Jade! Long time no see!” She exclaimed, face lighting up in recognition.

Jade fixed her with an assessing stare, “Ah, Anise. I see you’ve grown up a bit.”

“And you are as scary strong as ever.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

* * *

On the bank of the Griflet River, Jade sent the people home after reassuring them that he will get the bridge fixed immediately. The crowd of humans trickled out after giving their thanks to the seraph lord, leaving Guy and his group behind.

“I see, so General Van tried to recruit you as well.” Jade said after hearing their story.

“Was that why Van was here?” Guy asked.

“Yes, when I went to investigate the unusual levels of malevolence in Ladylake, I found Van here. He extended an invitation to me to join up with him.”

“He said the same thing to me!” Luke exclaimed.

“Unfortunately, after I dismissed his invite, I couldn’t get any more information because Van attempted to assault me with a something glowing in his hand. I immediately knew it was something dangerous and avoided getting hit by it. The thing manifested and took physical form into the Hydra hellion you all saw earlier.” Jade explained, “That was when I knew it was malevolence he threw at me.”

“Oh, so that’s what you meant by the hellion wasn’t alive,” said Anise.

“Correct, that hellion wasn’t the result of a corrupted being, therefore no need to call a shepherd for purification. Though it sounds like your friend wasn’t so lucky.”

Luke looked confused, “but you defeated that hellion in one shot! It doesn’t look like a hellion that would be as strong as a dragon but that’s what Sorey said it was.”

Jade thought for a moment before he said, “I imagine that not all those malevolent orbs are of the same potency, especially if he has more than one. Also, this was one was particularly weak to lightning artes.”

“I wonder what Van is trying to do with those malevolent orbs,” said Anise. “We still don’t know.”

“As much as I would like speculate about this some more, I must go back to the capital to arrange for someone to fix this bridge. Why don’t we continue this discussion in Ladylake?” Jade suggested.

Luke eyed the bridge behind them skeptically.

Jade followed his gaze and smirked. He turned around, reached up to grasp the jewel around his neck, and formed another casting circle. Then he swept his arms forward to release his mana.

A cold wind swept through the area and crystallized over the gap above the river, forming an ice bridge.

Luke yelped and then shivered, “You’re a water seraph?”

Jade started walking briskly across the bridge, paying no heed to the slippery surface, “Why yes I am. And I will meet all of you at the Rountabel Palace.”

“Wait, Jade, you’re not going to walk with us?” Anise called.

Jade paused and turned around. He pushed his glasses up. “I will meet you all later. I have urgent matters to deal with first.”

And then he vanished into a white light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #013: Seraphim’s Domain
> 
> Luke: What? Did Jade just vanish? Was his vessel nearby?
> 
> Ion: He is the Seraph Lord of Ladylake. I imagine that he must have crossed the border to get back into his domain in order to do that.
> 
> Luke: So… a Seraph can travel anywhere inside their domain?
> 
> Ion: It is possible for a Lord of the Land. If they are a powerful enough Seraph, they could use that ability to travel within the domain they cast.
> 
> Luke: That is so cool! Can you do that too Ion?
> 
> Ion: I could sense a lot of things in my domain, but traveling between places drained me too much so I didn’t do that often.
> 
> Luke: So in other words, that Jade guy is scarily strong.
> 
> Ion: Yes… *turns away* he truly is…
> 
> \--
> 
> Skit #014: The New Land
> 
> Tear: So this is Difland…
> 
> Guy: You’ve never been here before Tear?
> 
> Tear: No. I’ve mostly lived in the Shrinechurch in Pendrago
> 
> Luke: I don’t think I’ve ever been here either.
> 
> Anise: You don’t sound sure at all, Luke.
> 
> Luke: Well… I never paid attention to towns or anything back then…
> 
> Anise: Well I used to come here a lot! This was where I went to school!
> 
> Tear: It’s so pretty here… so much water, and plants everywhere…
> 
> Guy: Well it is the Water Capital after all.


	11. The Top of Ladylake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((I don't need to remind you there are spoilers for Tales of Zestiria right? Since this is postgame? Right, well, you have been warned))

[Lakehaven Heights, Difland]

“Umm…” Tear looked around. They were at a small village on the outskirts of Lake Pernia in line to take the next tube boat. The capital of Ladylake was situated out in the middle of the lake and over the years, the Diflanders have developed the technology to pump water through clear pipes big enough to hold a boat of people. “What happened to the plan to talk to Lord Rohan?”

“Marlind’s Lord?” Anise asked while jumping on her toes to see if she could see the front of the line, “Aren’t you more excited to see Ladylake?”

“Well, yes, but don’t forget that we’re here to find a water seraph,” Tear reminded them.

Anise stopped jumping, “Yeah, I know, but I’m excited to find out what Jade knows.”

“Me too,” said Guy, “and Jade is also a Lord so maybe he can help us out too.”

Luke crossed his arms in thought. He was the only seraph outside at the moment as Natalia immediately disappeared when they were crossing the ice bridge, and Ion disappeared after making sure Guy, Tear, and Anise knew which direction will take them to Ladylake.

The fire seraph asked, “Isn’t Jade a water seraph? Maybe we can ask him to be the fourth element?”

_Luke! I highly doubt a seraph lord like Jade would be willing to drop his responsibilities just to help us._

“But you and Ion are here!”

_That’s different, we’re- hey, what do you mean by I’m here?_

“Aren’t you only here to help Asch instead of doing your job in Lohengrin?”

_This is not just about Asch! This is a very important problem! What if more hellions like that Hydra back there appear? We are supposed to be in an age of peace and stability!_

_Perhaps we will learn more about Van as well. I have a feeling that we might find more answers here in Difland._

The next boat arrived for them before either Natalia or Luke could restart their argument after Ion’s comment. Anise eagerly hopped on to enjoy the short and swift ride into Ladylake.

“I love Ladylake! The boats are always so fun,” she cheered as the wind around them settled and the boat slowed to a stop by a plateau. Guy was busy being concerned for Luke who was insistent on trying out the boats himself but could not stop staring at the water rushing underneath them.

“Oh yes, you said you’ve been here before,” said Tear, as they climbed out onto the grey cobblestones paving the streets.

“Yup, I studied at the Ladylake Cathedral before moving to Pendrago.”

“Then do you know where Rountabel Palace is?”

“Sure, it’s the biggest building at the highest point,” Anise said, pointing at the doors down another path to their right. They followed Anise’s directions, wounding around a residential district and straight to a large heavy door guarded by two Difland knights.

“Halt! What business do you have here?”

“Hey, we were invited!” Anise pouted, “Just ask Jade.”

The soldier flinched, “L-Lord Jade?”

“Yes?” Anise trailed off, confused.

The two knights looked at each other, expressions unreadable through their helmets. Anise tapped her foot impatiently.

“It is fine,” another voice came from the door. “Jade told me about them so let them through.”

“Y-yes General!” The knights straightened with a salute and let them through the door.

Inside, they met with a blond haired man also dressed in Diflandian blue. “I apologize for my knights, Shepherd.” He bowed. “I am General Aslan Frings of the Royal Army. Jade told us moments ago to expect your arrival.”

“Thank you General, my name is Guy,” said Guy, bowing back on ceremony.

“Please follow me,” Aslan gestured towards the grand carpeted stairway in front of them. “The King is waiting for you.”

Guy froze his bowing while Tear, Anise, and Luke gaped at the General.

“THE KING?!”

* * *

 

In the throne room of Ladylake, Natalia and Ion reappeared and they met with a tall broad-shouldered man dressed in blue. He had short strawberry-blond hair decorated with traditional Difland beads and a recognizable regal stature despite his casual clothing.

“Hello,” Tear said to him politely, “We are here to see…”

“Ah! Jade has told me all about you! Welcome to Ladylake!”

“Er, thank you,” said Tear with slight confusion.

“Your Majesty, please don’t scare our guests,” a voice came from the door. Jade stepped into the room, surveying them all through the frames of his glasses. A glimmer of amusement shined in his ruby eyes.

Anise bounced over, “Jade! How could you leave us behind?”

Jade pushed his glasses up. “My apologies, Anise. I had to come back as soon as possible report to the king.”

“Wait,” said Luke, staring back and forth between Jade and the man in the blue. “You said ‘Your Majesty’ just now.’”

The corner of Jade’s lips turned up slightly, “Ah, bravo Luke for figuring it out. Let me present the King of Difland himself: King Peony Upala Diphda.”

“Jade! Don’t use my full name! You know I don’t like it when people say such a long thing out loud,” King Peony whined.

“Just a formality,” Jade replied with a nonchalant shrug.

“Uh…” Guy trailed with an uncertain bow, “Pleased to meet you Your Majesty.”

“You are Guy correct?” Peony said, gesturing for them to come to the back of the room where a throne was set up. “So you’re Rolance’s new shepherd. And you’ve got quite the attractive group here.” He eyed Tear and Natalia standing nearby.

King Peony Upala Diphda, the current descendant of a centuries old family that prided itself on being benevolent and kind to the people they reign over. King Peony was no different from his ancestors and the people of Difland loved him for it, knowing that the king would always act in their best interests.

Jade sighed, “Please focus Your Majesty. I invited them here for a reason.”

“Down to business already? If you insist then.” Peony said, and immediately adopted a more serious expression. Everyone felt a bit tense when they remembered whom exactly they were in the presence of.

Jade strode over to stand next to Peony. He held up his hand and created a small orb of blue light, floating just over the palm of his hand.

“The size of that malevolent orb Van held was about this size. Luke, did it look like this before it hit Asch?”

Luke stared at the ball, trying to recall if it matched. “Well, it might have been a bit bigger? I can’t exactly remember since it happened so fast.”

“No, Luke is right,” said Tear. “The one Van held was a bigger one.”

“Then it fits into my hypothesis that not all the malevolent orbs are equal in levels of density,” said Jade, closing his hand and the ball fizzled out.

“So Asch is still under the influence of a mysterious orb, and it is strong enough to create a dragon,” said Natalia, dejected.

“It would appear so, I would like to examine it myself if I could.” Jade said, giving Peony a meaningful glance.

“Jade, that isn’t funny. This is no time for experiments,” said Peony, crossing his arms in clear disapproval.

“I do not joke about this,” Jade retorted.

“It’s not that. I know what you are thinking, and there are so many things that could go wrong with your plan.” Peony said, his expression hardening like stone.

“I am aware of the dangers,” said Jade unperturbed. “However, I think there is a bigger picture none of us are aware of yet, and only Van seems to know. This may be a bigger problem beyond just borders issues and experimental malevolence, and I intend to find out.”

Peony stared, “And what about your duties?”

“You know as well as I that Nephry is absolutely capable of doing it in my absence.” Jade answered.

Guy hesitantly interrupted the conversation, “Your Majesty, I’m afraid we don’t follow.”

Peony and Jade turned back from their semi-private bantering to speak to the group. “My apologies,” said the king. “After Jade told me about Van’s doings, we know that if we do not take action, this could be a serious matter.”

“Well yeah, Asch could become a dragon! But why would it be a serious matter to you?” Luke asked bluntly.

“Asch is your brother so that is why this is important to you,” said Peony, nodding his acknowledgement to the fire seraph. “But my concerns are about the safety of all my citizens. Van poses the threat of spreading malevolence, and he seems to be looking to acquire more power and more opportunities to do so.”

Natalia raised her hand, “Wait Your Majesty are you saying that Van could be aiming towards becoming… a true lord of misfortune? Like the ones in the days of old?”

“Oh!” Tear exclaimed in realization, “I think I remember reading about them.”

“What are you two yammering on about?” Luke asked. He did not like all this vague talk. “What’s a lord of misfortune?”

“I think Natalia is talking about an ancient being,” said Ion cut in. His voice was grave, a tone that Luke never knew Ion’s voice could take. “One that existed in the darker days when humans and seraphim had difficulty cooperating let alone co-existing with each other. When resonance was at an all-time low, the shepherds were the only ones able to combat the immense grief, despair, and negative emotions that give birth to corruption and malevolence. If that immense amount accumulates in one being powerful enough to contain it all, we call them the Lord of Calamity.”

“Oh, the Lord of Calamity,” Luke and Guy echoed at the same time.

“Indeed,” said Jade. “The fact that Van is going around recruiting seraphim and spreading this sort of intense malevolence is suspect. His true motives may be tied with the motives of a Lord of Calamity.”

“Why would Master Van want to become one?” Luke asked. His curiosity was completely piqued by the topic of malevolence.

“Yeah, what does a Lord of Calamity do anyway?” Anise spoke up.

Ion explained, “A Lord of Calamity is said to be a human being cursed with immortality. Unlike a seraph, their negativity and suffering is accumulated until they even transcend the form of a hellion, and they are conscious during it. A Lord of Calamity absorbs massive amounts of malevolence and continues to perpetrate it to further their own ambitions.”

“Yes,” Natalia added, “I read in Lord Mikleo’s book about them. There are numerous ways someone can turn into a Lord of Calamity but the biggest reason is because they are powerful enough to endure absorbing the malevolence, like the opposite of a Shepherd.”

Luke whipped around to stare at Guy, “So if Guy becomes corrupted, he could become a Lord of Calamity?”

“If that were to happen, all of you could become hellions. If Guy’s resonance and aptitude is absolute, you may all even turn into dragons,” said Jade.

“What?!” Anise exclaimed, “That’s not funny Jade!”

Jade tapped the bridge of his glasses unconsciously, “I’m just stating a fact. There have been shepherds recorded in history who have become Lords of Calamity themselves, though not in recent records since the Awakening has one actually emerged. However, I am telling you that the shepherd’s power is not to be underestimated. Therefore, it falls to his or her Prime Lords and Sublords to help maintain control.”

“So…” Luke trailed, “this Lord of Calamity is immortal and spreads malevolence in order to become stronger?”

Peony responded, “Yes. We suspect that the malevolent orb is something Van learned to use and is trying to complete a goal.”

“A goal? But what is the goal?” Anise asked.

Jade sighed, “At the moment, I do not have enough information to guess. We have only known Van by reputation in Rolance and have not enough sufficient dealings with him.”

“And that is why Jade is keen on investigating this,” said Peony.

Jade turned to Guy, “And what His Majesty has been trying to prevent me from saying, is that I wish to accompany you as your Sublord.”

Tear and Natalia gaped at him in shock. Anise pumped a fist in the air, “Yes! Jade is coming with us!”

“A-are you sure?” Guy asked, “I mean, we are grateful that you wish to join, but you are a Seraph Lord, and you must have big responsibilities in Difland.”

“As I have told Peony, my sister Nephry is a suitable replacement for me.” Jade answered.

“Well, if Lord Jade wishes to come, I don’t see any reason to refuse,” Natalia finally said.

Luke nudged his shepherd and whispered, “We need a water seraph anyways. Just say yes Guy.”

“Right,” The shepherd nodded. “We would be honoured to have you, Seraph Jade.”

“I appreciate your appreciation,” said Jade in amusement.

* * *

 

Of the places they have travelled, Ladylake was the first place Ion felt a constant density in the air as it mixed with the water that permanently flowed through the country. It was a unique mix, different from the dry mix of sands on the Lohgrin continent. The constant light breeze also told Ion of the health and happiness of Ladylake’s citizens. It was a pleasant environment to be in.

“Lord Ion?”

Ion looked up from his spot next to the window, “Yes Anise?”

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Yes,” Ion said, gesturing to the chair next to him which Anise plopped down on.

“About what you said back in Guinevere, about Seraph Guardians… is that true?” Anise asked.

Ion inhaled a breath. He knew Anise was going to ask about his slip-up eventually, but that didn’t make it any easier to break the news to her.

“Anise, you are part of the Rolance Shrinechurch so perhaps you know a lot about the hierarchy and structure of the church,” Ion began. “The training for future shepherds is made by selecting acolytes with the highest potential. Anyone else would not be approved to become a shepherd.”

“Oh… Then, they assigned me to be a Seraph Guardian instead of an acolyte like Tear.”

“Anise…” Ion trailed.

Anise shook her head, “No, I had a feeling that was what you meant. Also, Tear kinda told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault at all Lord Ion! This was me getting overconfident and getting my hopes up after they made me your Guardian.”

Ion reached over to pat Anise’s hand, “For what it’s worth, I am glad you became my Guardian. You made my duties easier and responsibilities more pleasant just by being there.”

“So… what about Guy? He wasn’t part of the Shrinechurch at all.”

“Shepherd Pere is somewhat different. He left the Shrinechurch before Mohs became the Pope, and he decided to take Guy on as a ward and an apprentice without needing the approval of the church at the time.”

“Maybe I should do something like that,” said Anise.

“Wait, Anise, you can’t just leave the Shrinechurch, what about your family?”

“No, I don’t mean leave the Shrinechurch, but maybe I can do more than just be your Guardian.” Anise swung her legs around to get up from the chair and run out the door.

Ion turned back to the window, a small smile forming on his lips. Perhaps Anise was maturing a little and has found her path.

* * *

 

Luke wandered through the Rountabel Palace taking in the grandiose sights, shiny colours, and high ceilings. His curiosity led him to try every unlocked door to see what was behind them. After wandering in and out several empty meeting rooms, he came upon a spacious sitting room and Tear in the corner flipping through a book in front of several bookshelves.

She turned upon sensing Luke’s presence in the room, “Hello Luke.”

“Hey Tear, what are you doing?”

“I thought I would research a bit about the Lord of Calamity, but I haven’t had much success,” Tear admitted.

Luke decided it was the right time to voice what he had been thinking for a while, “Did you find any records about shepherds who have become one?”

Tear thought for a moment, “Well, the last Lord of Calamity to exist on record wasn’t a former shepherd, he was cursed by one.”

“Cursed?” Luke repeated in surprise.

“Yes,” Tear replied in exasperation, “You might be the only person I know who hasn’t read Lord Mikleo’s treatises.”

“Hey I know how the Age of Chaos ended: When Sorey defeated Heldalf and became the vessel for Maotelus and purified the land.”

“And Heldalf was the current Lord of Calamity at the time,” said Tear, “But he became one through a terrible grief-driven curse made by the previous shepherd.”

“So not only can a shepherd become a Lord of Calamity, they can create one,” Luke concluded, deciding to file that information away for now. “But… isn’t defeating a Lord of Calamity part of the shepherd’s duty too? This is so confusing!”

Tear nodded, “That is the burden of a shepherd… and the risk of having such power. I am certain Shepherd Pere made sure Guy was aware of them.”

Luke turned to look at her, “Then what about you? If Guy becomes… corrupted and us seraphim become hellions, then what about the squire?”

Tear stared at the fire seraph, caught off-guard by his question. “I guess, since the squire shares and amplifies the shepherd’s power, they will also become hellions along with everyone else.”

After that realization, both of them fell silent, both contemplating the risks of becoming part of the shepherds’ burden. A seed of guilt began to bloom inside Luke as he remembered back when he was frantically looking for any way to wake Asch up. Back then, he saw the Shepherd’s Pact as the solution that he could use right away and set him on the path to obtaining the power to cure his brother. But, he hadn’t realized what the risks and burdens that bestowing this power upon Guy, Tear, and his seraphim friends were.

As Luke left Tear to her book, a feeling of discomfort began to form in the depths of his seraphic essence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #015: The Politics of the Shepherd
> 
> Luke: *sighs in relief* That was really intense. I never thought I’d actually meet real royalty!
> 
> Jade: Oh? You’ve never met a member of the nobility before, Luke?
> 
> Luke: No, there isn’t anything like that in Lohengrin.
> 
> Jade: Ah, I suppose there isn’t anything like that way out there. You probably don’t know anything about politics either.
> 
> Luke: Do I need to?
> 
> Jade: Well, given that the Lohgrin region technically belongs to Rolance, and if you factor in Guy as a shepherd, that makes three shepherds supervising the Rolance kingdom. If you compare that with Difland, we only have one. The imbalance is a concern.
> 
> Luke: Only one?
> 
> Jade: Yes, Marlind was due to have one, but there have been some… complications.
> 
> Guy: Does it matter where a shepherd comes from? Our duty is to assist whoever needs it regardless of where they’re from.
> 
> Jade: I can see why you’re a shepherd, Guy. As for your question, ordinarily I would say no it shouldn’t. However, humans have this pesky little nature called power imbalance… and self-interest… and selfishness, which complicates matters and creates power struggles.
> 
> Luke: Argh! This is all so confusing!
> 
> Jade: Exactly the point.
> 
> \--
> 
> Skit #016: The Truth about Seraphim Hierarchy
> 
> Jade: Hmmm
> 
> Natalia: Are you… staring at me?
> 
> Jade: I’m just finding it fascinating
> 
> Natalia: Huh?
> 
> Jade: Seraphim usually don’t have any hierarchy to speak of. We don’t see the need to address each other as lords or master or other such titles.
> 
> Natalia: Yes… so your point is…?
> 
> Jade: Yet you address Ion as “Lord Ion”
> 
> Natalia: T-that’s because… Lord Ion watches over Lohengrin and is head of the seraphim whom live there…
> 
> Jade: But he passed that on to another Seraph when he left to be Guy’s wind seraph. He isn’t your lord anymore.
> 
> Natalia: I guess it’s just a habit.
> 
> Jade: Interesting, or you’ve known Ion as a Lord for your whole life.
> 
> Natalia: Did you say something else?
> 
> Jade: No


	12. Preservation

[Ladylake, Difland]

The next morning was a bright and airy one in the city of Ladylake when Guy and Tear exited the gates of the palace to wait for the rest of the group to show up.

Right after the pact with their new water seraph was made, instead of vanishing inside his new vessel, Jade left the group citing he needed to retrieve one of the divine weapons from the royal vault and make necessary preparations for departure.

Tear looked around, “I know Anise will meet us near the boats but where is everyone else?”

“Natalia and Ion are with me,” said Guy. “And Jade promised to meet us at the boats too.”

“Then where’s Luke?”

* * *

_Ladylake… that’s the city upon the water, and the legend of the sword in the altar originated here._

_Have we been here before? I don’t remember._

_No we haven’t. We didn’t go to many human settlements before Lohengrin._

_Why is that?_

_Because “to live among humans is to invite malevolence” as that old saying goes. They have lifestyles and beliefs very different from the seraphim and easily susceptible to malevolence. You’re in Ladylake now because of them aren’t you?_

_Well, yeah. But Guy, Tear, and Anise aren’t like that._

Luke strolled through the marketplace in Ladylake, taking in the sights, and chatting with Asch. He held Mieu in his arms, feeling at peace with the bright sunny day in the Water Capital.

_But Van is. I’m at a risk of becoming a dragon because of him._

_Right... and I will find out what Master Van is doing after I purify you._

_Luke, if… if I do turn into a dragon-_

_That won’t happen._

_I’m just saying that on the off chance that the malevolent orb breaks before you get back-_

_No._

_You have to promise to-_

Mieu suddenly spoke up, “Master! Watch out for-“

Luke wasn’t looking in front of him when he collided hard with another person and fell to the floor.

“Hey!” Luke yelled, rubbing his shoulder, “Look where you’re going!”

“Huh?” The human stood there looking baffled, “Something hit me!”

“I’m right here,” said Luke. Mieu jumped down to walk up to the human and waved his arms trying to catch their attention.

“Master Luke, he can’t see us,” Mieu said, jumping back with a squeak.

“What do you mean? I thought humans can see us.”

“Well, a lot of them can, but not everyone. Some people can only hear us, but it looks like this human can’t see or hear us at all,” said Mieu.

“That can’t be right,” Luke objected, striding right past Mieu to the human. He tapped him on the shoulder, “Excuse me.”

The human looked over his shoulder, and stared right at Luke, but didn’t seem to see him.

“Uh, hello?” Luke said, tapping him again.

The man turned around fully and said out loud, “If that is the seraphim, I cannot see or hear you. If it’s just my imagination, I apologize.”

“Huh?” Luke and Mieu chorused together, staring at each other in confusion. Was this person crazy, apologizing for their imagination but not to the seraphim?

“Luke?” They heard Guy’s voice from the distance.

“I’m here!” Luke called back. Guy and Tear came over, nodded to the man standing there and turned to Luke.

“You didn’t tell us where you were going to meet us,” said Tear, and she waved at the normin, “Hello Mieu.”

“I just went for a walk, what’s wrong with that?”

“We’re supposed to leave Ladylake this morning,” Guy said. “Tell us next time if you’re going for a walk.”

“Fine, I will,” Luke said begrudgingly.

The man standing near them looked bewildered, “Are you speaking to the Seraphim?” He asked Tear.

“Yes,” said Tear, “Oh! Do you have low resonance? I can introduce you to Luke. He is the seraph standing here.”

The man eyed the spot Luke was standing in with a skeptic look. “Are you sure this ‘Luke’ is speaking the truth?”

Luke was angry, “What? Are you calling me a liar?”

“He is real,” said Guy. “We’re not lying to you. I am a shepherd, and Luke is one of the seraphim who is standing next to you.”

“You are a shepherd? I supposed I can trust one of you lot then.” The man said, “I apologize to the seraphim then,” and he walked away.

“Hey!” Luke yelled at the man’s back, “Just because you can’t see me doesn’t mean you get to be rude!”

“My, you people really make a racket in the middle of the street,” came Jade’s voice from nearby and the group turned to see him and Anise standing there.

“Come on, the next trial is waiting for us!” Anise called, “Let’s go!

* * *

Luke was still in a bad mood as the group left Ladylake and headed for the hilly sides to the east. He stayed outside with Tear, Anise, and Guy instead and stewed over the incident.

“Forget about him, Luke,” said Anise. “He’s just bitter because he can’t see or speak to the seraphim. There are many people like him.”

_Unfortunately, it may be people like him who make it difficult for seraphim to coexist. His attitude isn’t the same as those who have low resonance. Usually humans who cannot talk to us directly can offer their prayers with the Cathedral or the Shrinechurch as another form of communication._ Ion’s voice echoed over them.

_Then why was that man so…brusque over Luke’s presence?_ Natalia asked.

“I walked into him,” said Luke, “But he didn’t even realize I was there.”

“Jade, do you know him?” Tear asked, “Or are there other people like him in Ladylake?”

There was a brief pause. _I do not know him._ Jade’s voice projected. _However, people like him are common to see. I would not linger over their actions for too long because for whatever reason, they are resentful and spiteful for having low resonance._

Guy frowned, “but then, wouldn’t they become susceptible to malevolence with that resentment?”

Jade made a humming sound. _You may be right, but at the moment we have bigger issues don’t we?_

Luke pouted, but he disappeared back inside Guy so the three humans could continue their trek up the hills of Lakehaven Heights. There were very few hellions among the local wildlife, a testament to the strength of the land’s blessing. With Jade’s voice directing them, they bypassed several of Ladylake’s outer villages and reached the bottom of a delicately flowing waterfall.

_Behind this waterfall should be Lefay, the Water Shrine._

“Should be?” Anise asked.

_I say should be because the only thing keeping this place from eroding away is ancient seraphic artes._

“But the ancient seraphic artes have stood for centuries,” said Tear. “You sound like you don’t trust them.”

There was no response from Jade so it was with some trepidation, the three of them went behind the waterfall to find an elaborately carved stone door. Anise wrung water from her clothes, feeling like this wouldn’t be the first time she would have to do that today. The sound of water running was a constant thrum in her ears, and oddly, it was soothing and melodic.

Guy pushed the large heavy door open to reveal a high ceiling room. Water dripped everywhere and on either sides of the path, the clear water glistened, reflecting light in every direction.

“Wow, it’s so… clean here,” Tear commented, taking in the sparkling sight.

Jade and the rest of the seraphim party materialized, walking alongside them to the middle of the room where a shallow pool of water flowed out and settled.

“Welcome shepherd,” a voice echoed throughout the chamber. A seraph dressed in similar robes and mask to both Pawan and Wardell appeared in front of them.

“I am the seraph Altul, guardian protector of Lefay,” said Altul. He surveyed the group of humans and seraphim before resting his gaze on Jade.

“Ah, you are back,” he said to the water seraph in their party with the tone of disappointment. “I recall that last time you were here, you said ‘I will never go through this sort of torture again.’”

“I recall that I said this trial was torture,” Jade retorted. “But I would never close the door on the opportunity to obtain the blessing again.”

Altul did not respond to that, instead he turned to Guy. “You are here to obtain the blessing of Amenoch correct?”

“Yes,” Guy confirmed.

“Within the shrine, you will find several chests holding documents. Read them and come to your own conclusion when you confront the hellion at the end of the trial. Your goal is not merely to quell the hellion but to find out how he became a hellion in the first place,” Altul explained. “Good luck,” and with that, the guardian seraph disappeared.

Jade put a palm to his face, “The pinnacle of wisdom and spirit that one,” he muttered under his breath.

The rest of the group blinked in confusion and turned their attention to the door in the back. Guy scratched his head, “Okay, I guess the trial is starting right now.”

“Wait!” Anise raised her hand, and pushed forward to the front, “I have something to say, well, something to ask first: I want to ask if… if…”

She took a deep breath as everything stared at her questioningly. She shifted from side to side with slight nervous, and looked straight at Guy. His blue eyes were patient and gentle and that gave her the courage to speak again.

“Guy, I want to be your squire.” Anise said.

A smile crept up on Guy’s face and he simply said, “Okay.”

Tear was also smiling, “I’m glad you finally made your decision, Anise.”

Anise swung her backpack from her shoulders and placed it on the ground, “Yeah, I thought about this for a long time. I think it’s time to not just put my training to use, but to also be able to help you battle back the hellions. Tokunaga and I are ready!”

Luke stepped forward to create the squire pact.

* * *

Through the doors of the Lefay Shrine, Guy, Tear, and Anise immediately took note of the unusual décor on the walls.

“Are those… eyes?” Tear asked tentatively.

“Ewww,” Anise said, turning up her nose at the unpleasant sight.

“Ewww indeed,” said Jade. “If those eyes catch you in their gaze, they will teleport you back to the front door.”

Tear gasped, “Then how do we get past them?”

Jade waved at their shepherd, “I have granted Guy the power of the Spectral Cloak. It will let you travel undetected, though to cover all three of you, my power won’t be able to last very long so you’ll have to hurry or to cover the path one section at a time.”

“What about us?” Luke asked, “Do we get teleported too?”

“If you’re caught, yes,” said Jade. “We can just travel in Guy’s consciousness but if any of us accidentally wander into the eye, Guy should immediately call us back with the armatus.”

Guy nodded, “Got it. And what about any hellions we come across?”

“Well last time I was here, all the hellions tend to wander in the rooms without eyes,” Jade replied. “A majority of them are weak against earth as you would expect.”

“Sounds good,” Natalia said, gripping the knives at her waist. “Let’s get going.”

“J-just don’t stay too close,” said Guy, a little nervous when Tear and Anise crowded near him.

Jade, not noticing or perhaps not acknowledging Guy’s nervousness, said, “They have to be close to you because the Spectral Cloak is not very big.”

Natalia and Luke looked at Guy, who looked frozen in fear, and then turned away to muffle their laughter. Ion poked both of them as a reminder that they needed to get back inside Guy and let the humans start to navigate their way through the trial.

“Why?” Guy bemoaned, “Why do all my squires have to be female, why?”

“Come on shepherd, suck it up,” Anise said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

Tear fidgeted as she inched her way close to the shepherd, “I’m- I’m sorry Guy.”

Guy remained stiff in response as he cast the water bubble over them.

In the first clear room they came upon, there was only one hellion which Jade easily dispatched with his ice spell. Under the stairs, Guy found a chest with documents in it and started reading it.

Natalia peered over his shoulder, “What does it say?”

“It’s seems to be someone’s personal journal,” said Guy as he scanned the pages. “They were visited by a seraph…”

Behind them, Anise turned to Jade, “You have been here before right? Can’t you tell us how the hellion became a hellion?”

“Mmm I could,” Jade said, “But it’s more fun this way don’t you think?”

Anise muttered something unflattering that Jade ignored, and trailed after the rest of the group as they moved further into the shrine.

Down the next few hallways, they carefully peeked around corners and navigated past more eyes before finding themselves in another room that contained more hellions.

“Ah,” Jade peered at the hellions in the group. “That large elephant-looking one is weak against earth but the small ones are surprisingly weak against fire. You’re up Luke.” He disappeared back inside Guy and pushed out their resident fire seraph.

“Yeesh, I thought I wouldn’t have to do anything in a water shrine,” Luke grumbled as he readied his sword for battle.

“No complaining,” Natalia ordered, as she ran by him to get the water hellion within range of her daggers.

“I’m complaining Natalia! I’m complaining that I’m so ready to take them down! Burning Havoc!” Luke yelled as he jumped up and slammed his foot upon the scorpion-like hellions in a blaze of flames. Guy followed up by diving into the middle of the swarm and blazed through them with flaming horizontal slashes.

“Infernal Havoc!” Guy pushed them back with several slashes in all different directions, charging fire mana into this attack.

Over by the elephant hellion, Tear slammed her rod into the ground and created her buffering circle. “Invoke: Ground!” The circle around their part of the field glowed orange-yellow to signify the earth element.

Tokunaga channeled his normin power into Anise’s backpack, which resembled more of a doll, and enlarged it. Anise started manipulating the movement of her large doll to perform an uppercut punch that shook the ground, “Stone Dragon Ascent!” She cried as the powerful earth-infused attack knocked the large elephant over.

Standing within the vicinity of Tear’s circle, Natalia finished chanting her own spell during Anise’s attack and her daggers that were planted around the hellion glowed.

“Quake Stroke!” A massive rock spire struck upwards and pierced the hellion.

“Let me finish this one!” Anise exclaimed, and directed her giant doll to slam down on the hellion and it disintegrated. She pumped her fist in the air and then danced around with Tokunaga, “Yay! I beat my first hellion.”

From behind her, Tear and Natalia exchanged smiles with each other.

Guy finished up the last of the hellion swarms with Luke’s spells aiding him, and they regrouped with the girls, ready to continue.

Luke disappeared inside Guy again while exclaiming, “Oi! Jade! Do your own trial!” And Jade reappeared again with a bemused grin.

* * *

As they continued to travel upwards, Guy and Natalia read through a few more chests before coming to the conclusion that this was the account of a human who became a shepherd.

Guy frowned as he looked at the last page detailing the ramblings of a man obsessed with forging the perfect weapon. “So then the hellion we’re going to face in the end… was a shepherd.”

Jade pushed up his glasses and gave a small sigh, “Yes, some shepherds in the past succumbed to the very malevolence they were supposed to fight against, and even worse, they never even saw it coming. Asura was one example of a shepherd who did not realize he had crossed that line.”

“He couldn’t see? So then the hellion we’ll be fighting does not realize he’s a hellion?” Tear asked.

“Given that he is a hellion, I’m not sure he is aware of anything but the goal he had become consumed with,” Jade answered. “Best be prepared for the fight ahead.”

Guy turned back to the papers and had a sudden realization, “So then Altul must be the seraph who made Asura into a shepherd.”

There was a deafeningly silence as everyone digested that implication.

Jade cleared his throat, “We should get going.”

“Yeah,” the rest of the group chorused together.

By the time they managed to navigate past numerous eye-trap rooms and up a couple of steep ramps, almost everyone in the party has complained about something: Guy made incoherent noises every time he had to use the Spectral Cloak, Tear and Anise disliked the shrine for pushing them left, right, up, and down, and Luke became moody from all the water spilling everywhere and refused to fight which left Natalia complaining that she had to do most of the work in the fights.

At the top of the fourth floor of the shrine, Guy was about to push the door open when Jade and Ion appeared.

“Guy, you know what we are going to face next right?” Ion asked.

Guy nodded, “I’m ready. Are all of you ready? Luke?”

_Yeah, I’m ready to finish this._

“I’m ready to kick that hellion’s butt for making us go through all this,” said Anise, cracking her knuckles. Behind her, Tear was muffling a giggle. Just like that, the tension in the group was lifted. Guy smiled in response and pushed the door.

After walking through the next hallway, the next door opened to a familiar looking circular room bathed in a blue glow. In the center was a massive feral hellion with the appearance of humanoid with multiple hands, each of them

The humans stared at the hellion. The hellion hasn’t noticed them yet.

Anise made a face, “Ewww.” She said, echoing her earlier statements from the beginning of the trial.

“Is that Asura? He’s… really big,” said Tear and she clutched her rod tightly.

The hellion turned around and saw the group.

“Give me back my sword!” He roared at them.

“Sword?!” Anise yelped, diving out of the way.

Guy grunted with effort as he blocked one of the swings from Asura’s arms before yelling back, “He wanted to forge the strongest sword that can cleave the malevolence! That was what was in the journals!”

“Is that kind of weapon even possible?” Tear wondered as she stepped back and cast a rain of frozen hammers down on top of the hellion. Ion followed her lead by conjuring several brightly coloured crystals and firing them at the hellions’s face. Asura stopped, stunned momentarily by the two simultaneous attacks.

Jade took that moment to complete his spell incantation: "Slumber in this horrid sepulcher of merciful ice: Frigid Coffin!"

Several large icicles formed around Asura, trapping it in a circle and then crashed together. Another even larger icicle blade appeared on top of the explosion and descended with a shattering sound.

“NO!” Asura screamed as he tugged under the weight of the ice, “Give it back! I must destroy the hellions! I must destroy the humans who created this wretched world!”

Guy straightened up out of his battle stance to address Asura. “So you thought getting rid of humans was the way to get rid of malevolence… That’s how you became a hellion.”

“Yes, that is the right answer, Shepherd.” Altul’s voice echoed in the chamber. Asura struggled harder to break free when he heard it.

“That is Altul’s voice! He stole my sword! GIVE. IT. BACK!”

Suddenly, the symbol of the shepherd on Guy’s hand glowed and he knew that he had acquired the water blessing. He turned to look at Jade who immediately nodded back. The shepherd held up his hand and invoked his true name: “Kukum Paisqu.”

The water armatus appeared in shimmer of light. In his hand was a large blue and white bow and Guy immediately nocked a glowing arrow and held it in place. When he fired it, making a direct hit on the Asura, a sequence of attacks began.

“Into the depths of the vortex,” Guy and Jade’s voices melded into one as the armatus began to shine brightly. “Rain down and purify this land… BLESSED STORM!”

A tornado of ice and snow blew through the field, congregating around the armatus that was calling it. Guy shot the arrow high into the air and the storm swirled around the arrow, following its trajectory as it plummeted downwards. The form of a wholly condensed whirlpool of water bore down on Asura and exploded on impact that whirled in dizzying circles.

Natalia and Luke appeared to physically join the party and watch in awe as Asura was overwhelmed by the power and when the dust and snow cleared, he laid sprawled out on the ground, still moaning and groaning for his sword.

“Give it back… give me back my sword Altul…” The hellion continued to utter, even as it was disappearing.

“Altul?” Anise said in realization, “So he did take Asura’s sword!”

“He has haunted this shrine for an eternity,” said Tear, looking at the downed hellion morosely. “Fueled by his hatred for Altul, obsessed over creating the perfect sword, and fostering his hatred for the humans who generate malevolence.”

“Indeed,” Jade added, “A pure-hearted shepherd who took his job of cleansing the malevolence way too far. He is just one example of the consequences of the shepherd’s burden, and Altul wanted us to know how his story ended. That is the head-ache inducing lesson of the water trial.”

As they left the shrine, Luke turned back for one final look at where Asura disappeared.

“So he hated Altul for taking away his sword… I wonder if he hated Altul for turning him into a shepherd too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #017: Cooking with Jade is Dangerous
> 
> Tear: Lord Jade?
> 
> Jade: Yes?
> 
> Tear: Ack, you appeared so close so suddenly… I mean… 
> 
> Jade: Was there something you needed Tear?
> 
> Tear: Ah… yeah, it’s my turn to cook and I was just wondering if you have any preferences?
> 
> Jade: Hmm… well, actually, if I may be bold to ask: May I help you with that?
> 
> Tear: Oh, you can cook?
> 
> Jade: Yes, cooking is survival for humans is it not? Besides, I find it quite fun.
> 
> Tear: I’ve never cooked with a seraph before. Cooking with you might be fun.
> 
> Guy: Huh. I never thought you would be interested in a human activity.
> 
> Jade: Why are you surprised? It’s fun to see how much spice humans can handle. Or when I sneak in ingredients they don’t like and see if they react. Humans make the best reactions.
> 
> Tear+Guy: H-He sounds like he enjoys torturing us… 
> 
> \--
> 
> Skit #018: Make sure to ask
> 
> Jade: Luke, have you made sure to keep an eye on Guy?
> 
> Luke: Huh? Why would I need to do that?
> 
> Jade: You are his Prime Lord, and Guy is currently under contract with two squires borrowing his powers and playing host to four seraphim through the contract with you.
> 
> Luke: Yeah? What’s your point?
> 
> Jade: A human isn’t as resilient as a Seraph. I fear that this may be a strain on Guy’s psyche as well as the burden of carrying the shepherd’s responsibilities.
> 
> Luke: Oh… then how do I keep an eye on Guy? He doesn’t faint after making contracts or using the shepherd’s power anymore. He seems fine to me, and Ion hasn’t told me if there’s any other problems.
> 
> Jade: You just have to ask, Luke. Ask.


	13. Interlude - Truths Uncovered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah right, the chapter that uncovers secrets but also has probably way too much groundwork... Warnings again for more Tales of Zestiria spoilers (but you already know that right?) but with an addition warning of Tales of BERSERIA spoilers (but you should also know these two games exist in the same world right?)

A small figure squeezed into a narrow passage, brushing against the jagged stone on the way to the end of the path where a windowsill sat. The figure jumped through the window soundlessly and landed in a dim room.

The sound of flipping paper drew the figure’s attention, and they looked past the shelf to see Mikleo sitting at a desk with a book in his hands. Around him, there were small stacks of books.

Mikleo looked up and locked eyes with glowing green ones, “Hello Morgrim.” He greeted.

The cat seraph hopped onto the desk and fixed him with an expectant stare, “Mikleo, you haven’t left the library for two days. I thought I had missed your exit given how quiet and secretive your entrance was.”

Mikleo grinned sheepishly, “Sorry about that. We wanted to come here without letting the Shrinechurch know.”

Morgrim nodded in understanding, “I am however wondering what it is that you two are looking for that you would sneak in to come here.”

Sorey came into view of the table and spotted the cat seraph, “Oh hello Morgrim.”

“Hello Sorey dear,” said Morgrim. “What are you doing?”

“We are looking for a solution on how to extract malevolence,” said Sorey.

Morgrim swished her tail, intrigued, “Extract malevolence? Why do you need to extract it?”

“General Van used some sort of orb of dense malevolence and it caused a seraph to fall into a coma instead of becoming a hellion,” Mikleo answered. “We are trying to figure out how to extract it so we can purify it.”

“A malevolent orb?” Morgrim said thoughtfully. “Now that’s something you don’t hear about these days.”

Sorey waved a black tome, “Mikleo, I found this book on one of the other desks. I can barely read it but it says: Something Affecting M-something and their Nature and Power Level.”

“Nature and Power Level? Could that be referencing the Seraphim?”

“Could be. The writer’s name looks faded out too but look at it,” Sorey pointed to the bottom where in faded letters, Mikleo could see a few letters: “M. M-A-Y.”

Morgrim stared at the book with recognition, “That book belongs to Melchior Mayvin. Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in centuries.”

“Melchior? That name sounds familiar,” said Sorey.

“Is it possible that his last name is referring to Mayvin? Is he the ancestor Yulia was talking about?” Mikleo asked, speculating.

“If you’re looking for information on malevolent orbs,” said Morgrim somberly, “then you’ve found the right one. Melchior was keenly interested in researching malevolence’s effects on the seraphim. I don’t know all the details but I distinctly remembered that he often carried a dark coloured orb.”

“An orb?” Sorey exclaimed in excitement. “Could it be the same one?”

“Sorey, let’s see the book.” Mikleo directed and they sat down at the table together and began to flip the pages. Morgrim settled next to them, bracing for a long night.

* * *

“I have a request,” Jade announced without preamble. “I need to visit Ladylake.”

The party had stopped for the night in Galahad Village, the closest settlement to the Lefay Shrine, and in the morning, the humans of the group were eating their breakfast at the table when Jade materialized in front of them with the announcement.

“Don’t we have to go to Ladylake anyways?” Anise asked, putting down her bagel. “It’s on the way back to Rolance.”

“Yes, but we wouldn’t have to go into Ladylake,” Jade answered. “We would pass it on the wayback to the borders.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you need to go?” Tear asked.

Jade replied, “I need to speak with His Highness about the man Luke encountered yesterday.”

Guy agreed to Jade’s request, and after breakfast they left the little village on the brief walk across the hilly roads to the first village with a boat tube to ride into Ladylake.

At the gate to Rountabel Palace, Jade reappeared and the guards let them in without a word. In the throne room, Jade ignored the guards standing at the doorway and briskly walked right in.

Peony lit up at seeing Jade entering the room ahead of the rest of the group, “Ah! My Jade has returned! How was the Water Trial? How is your Prime Lord doing?”

“Your Majesty,” Jade bowed shortly. “The Water Trial was certainly a trial, and Luke is just fine. He had a run-in with what I suspect is a member of the Remnants.”

“The Remnants? Did you get a good look at them?”

“Yes, but that isn’t the biggest problem. From hearing the man speak, I deduce that there is someone or several someones who have influenced them in the past into thinking that everyone is deceiving him about the presence of the seraphim.”

“Hmm,” Peony mused. “That is one of the common traits that a Remnant member nowadays would have. Or they have a hard time believing the seraphim are walking around like a normal person. Either way, it is alarming to see it happen in Ladylake. I will have someone look into it.”

Jade nodded in approval, “Good, now I must get going. We still have one last blessing to obtain.”

“Wait, Jade, what is going on?” Guy asked, hurrying to catch up. “What are the Remnants?”

“I have only heard of them in passing at the Shrinechurch, but I have never asked for details.” Tear recalled from memory.

“That is unfortunate to hear, Tear, because the Remnants’ organizations have their strongest base in Pendrago, and is in constant conflict with their Shrinechurch.”

“What?” Tear exclaimed in surprise. “Who are these people?”

Luke materialized next to Jade, “So that person I bumped into might be a member of this Remnant group?”

“I can only speculate, but this has been an ongoing issue for both of our kingdoms.”

Peony added, “And one of the most recent conflicts between the Rolance Shrinechurch and the Remnants actually involved the Grand Seraphim Lord Mikleo and Lord Sorey.”

“Oh! I think I remembered something about that,” said Anise. “There were rumours in the Shrinechurch a few years ago about upsetting the Grand Seraphim. That was about Lord Mikleo and Lord Sorey?”

Jade nodded. “I heard it ended with them leaving the Shrinechurch and never returning despite several summonses that were sent to them. It seems to be a very serious matter.”

“This is interesting and all, but you still didn’t answer the question,” Luke complained. “Who are these Remnants people? I’ve never heard of them!”

“I suppose not all of the seraphs would know something about the Remnants as they are really a political issue among humans,” said Guy thoughtfully. “But it does involve the seraphim doesn’t it?”

“Yes, in fact, the whole issue is about resonance and communication with the seraphim,” Peony answered. “Luke, that man you met, he couldn’t see you or hear you correct?”

“Yeah.”

“And then either Guy, Tear, or Anise came to help interpret but the man didn’t believe what they said, correct?”

“Yeah, he didn’t even believe that my name was Luke,” Luke replied petulantly. “I don’t know why he thinks I would lie to him.”

Peony sat down on the throne chair and rubbed his head. This was a story he has heard many times from both seraphim and human alike.

“Many members of the Remnants have similar stories, and they are people who grew up believing that either the seraphim are deceiving them or the people around them are lying about any messages from the seraphim. It is a sticky situation.”

“But why?” Luke asked the big question, “Why do they believe that?”

“It comes down to lack of resonance and a lack of faith in the Cathedral,” Jade replied. “I imagine that for some of them, they have actually been lied to in the past and that has shattered their beliefs. For others, it is a power struggle.”

Guy looked thoughtful, “Then the bigger question is how to solve this. I don’t want all these people disbelieving the seraphim or the church. That man barely believed me because I told him that I was a shepherd.”

“You are right,” said Peony. “Luckily, many of the members have avoided becoming corrupt by malevolence simply because they trust their own organization now, but it is still a tenuous breeding ground for malevolence. I will send my people to investigate this man.”

“Good. My work here is done,” said Jade. He flicked his hands towards the group, “But our work isn’t, so let’s leave.”

The king waved his hands dismissively. He was used to this kind of abrupt cut-off from his seraph, “Very uncute, Jade. But I suppose I shouldn’t keep you from your important task.”

As they turned to leave the throne room, the door burst open revealing a seraph who immediately saw Jade and cried, “Jade! Something terrible is coming!”

Jade froze, “Nephry, slow down, what is going on?”

“I sensed a massive amount of malevolence appearing just outside of my domain,” said Nephry hurriedly.

“What? Where?” Luke asked immediately.

“In the direction of Spiritcrest Mountain.”

* * *

“Mikleo… this is… this is so cruel.” Sorey whispered. He tried to find the words to express what he has read but while his mouth was open, no more words could come out.

Mikleo couldn’t find any other words to describe his feelings either. What he and Sorey read left them with an odd mixture of triumph and abject horror. The kind that only a discovery of the worst possible solution to an impossible question could produce. The book was an unapologetic textbook on experimenting with the subjects that he eventually identified as ‘Malaks.’ And as Mikleo and Sorey read more and more, they came to a realization that these Malakhim that Melchior was referring to resembled the Seraphim in every aspect. They felt their horror behind reading the clinical words on the pages worsen upon that realization.

“Sorey… this part sounds like the process of venomization,” said Mikleo, trying to keep his voice steady as he flipped to read the next paragraph of text. When he reached the end, he continued, “And the malevolence produced by the hellionized Malaks were distilled into a movable ball. Melchior found a way to manipulate the malevolence to be released at any time he wanted.”

Sorey hummed in thought as he stared at a diagram on his side of the book. “We may have found the source of Van’s work.”

Morgrim, who remained silent and patient at the side, bowed her head. “I’m afraid that despite being aware of the situation that we Seraphim were in at the time, I remained blind to Melchior’s machinations. As a man who was known to be the shadow of the Abbey, he had us all fooled as to what he had been doing in secret.”

“You said he was a master of illusions right?” Sorey asked.

The feline looked taken aback, “I never said that Sorey, but… that is true.”

“Oh… well, if he was a master illusionist, then you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. He probably didn’t want anyone seeing what he was doing,” said Sorey, trying to comfort the cat seraph.

“Thank you Sorey,” said Morgrim.

“So Melchior wanted to experiment with malevolence and how they affect the seraphim. Why? What was his purpose?” Mikleo said, turning the attention back to the book.

A look of shame crossed Morgrim’s face, “It was a time when humans considered the Malakhim, or Seraphim as you know them as, to be a source a power they can wield at will since many of the Malakhim had their wills suppressed by Innominat, Maotelus’s predecessor.”

She looked up when there was no response. The two seraphim in front of her stared wide-eyed and frozen in abject horror. Silence reined over them as Mikleo and Sorey digested this piece of history that they were never aware of.

“How… How long ago was this?” Sorey finally asked. Morgrim had to be impressed by his curiosity winning out over the feelings of horror and disgust. It seemed to be Mikleo who was having trouble digesting his shock as he seemed to be staring at nothing in particular with blank violet eyes.

Morgrim sighed, aware that she was speaking about taboo issues. But of all the seraphim who should be aware of the dangers, she felt the ones who were currently leading the world in seraphim-human cohabitation, deserve to know this large part of coexistence in history.

“I believe this happened after King Claudin’s Asgard era but before King Percival Asgard’s era of tranquility began.”

“The Unification of Asgard! So it was during the Graceful Era?”

“Yes, the end of Malak enslavement also ended around the same time as the geological shifts. The coincidence is not exactly… coincidental.”

Mikleo pursed his lips, “This… I didn’t know this part of the history. The Celestial Record doesn’t mention any of this.”

“I suppose it would a blip in the history of the entire Asgard era, but many changes have happened during that tumultuous period.”

“Then using seraphim as… tools… didn’t happen for very long?” Sorey asked. His green eyes were full of hope as he stared at Morgrim and the cat seraph had to pause for a moment to think about it. Despite the many years the former shepherd had under his belt as a seraph, would he still consider a few years to be too long? Perhaps the best answers would’ve been that rescue happened in no time at all, but Morgrim cannot hide such a big of a lie, when the proof was all along in that black bound book.

“About as long as when all humans had the ability to perceive the presence of Seraphim: for a short and brief time,” Morgrim eventually decided on. “I know it sounds ominous but the fact that it hasn’t happened again in this era for this many years… Doesn’t this show the success of both your efforts and Maotelus’s in fostering proper relationships for future generations?”

Sorey begrudgingly nodded, “I just… can’t believe that this was the result of humans being able to see the seraphim.”

“Sorey…”

“It is an unfortunate truth made worse by the fact that it happened around the same time many of the malakhim had their free will and consciousness sealed as well,” Morgrim said sagely. “Though not all bad things resulted from this tumultuous era. For example, it was the era when the Silver Flame was born, and while Melchior did those heinous experiments, he also left behind the invention of the armatus.”

Sorey couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “Melchior created the armatus?” He said incredulously.

Morgrim nodded, “The early armatus fused the human and seraph together but it was very one-sided and exploitative of the seraph’s power. Now the armatus works better through mutual awareness and consent. This was something developed by the seraphim themselves in hopes of a better world alongside humans.”

“Oh good,” Sorey breathed out in relief. “Though I think in theory armatizing or dearmatizing is still through the will of the human… No wonder Edna sounded bitter about humans doing whatever they want to the seraphs.”

“Yes,” said Morgrim. “Mutual cooperation still works like that, but armatization no longer works by force but by consent as well as absolute trust, and that is where True Names and pacts come from.”

“Wait a moment,” Mikleo suddenly spoke up. “Fusing with the seraphim… Heldalf did that with Maotelus didn’t he? And then we forced him into dearmatization.”

Sorey nodded though he looked confused, “I suppose we did do that by force... to” His eyes lit up in realization, “-to separate Heldalf and Maotelus!”

A glint appeared in Mikleo’s eyes and he said, “While this discussion was both bleak and informative, I think we may have found the answer we’ve been looking for.”

“That’s it!” The two seraphs shouted in unison, elated to have figured the puzzle out.

While they basked in the triumph of solving their main problem, a single chilling thought ran through Morgrim’s mind and she asked the sobering question that quickly put an end to the their jubilation.

“That’s all well and good you two, but to separate that malevolence… who is going to be the one to sever that link?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #019: Not a Lightning Seraph?
> 
> Luke: …
> 
> Jade: What is it Luke?
> 
> Luke: I was just thinking about the first time we met… I was surprised that you could cast a lightning arte
> 
> Jade: Lightning is indeed an advanced element, but many of the stronger seraphim know at least one or two of them.
> 
> Luke: Well Sorey is supposed to be a lightning seraph right? Yet yours look stronger than the one I saw him cast.
> 
> Jade: What was the arte called?
> 
> Luke: Uh… I think it was… Thunder Lance?
> 
> Jade: Ah, that one is the lower level of Thunder Blade.
> 
> Luke: Well, it was still pretty powerful.
> 
> Jade: I suspect he cast that one because he was holding back. The Grand Seraphim are not ones to be underestimated you know.
> 
> Luke: Are you a Grand Seraph then, Jade? Since you’re so powerful. 
> 
> Jade: I wouldn’t want the title of Grand Seraph. It’s a big burden on one’s shoulders.
> 
> Luke: So… you want the power of a Grand Seraphim but none of the responsibilities?
> 
> Jade: You know me so well already.
> 
> Luke: Right…


	14. Crisis at Spiritcrest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((I started Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition and boy did I fell back into that rabbit hole lol))

[Falkewin Hillside, Difland]

In the Rolance Empire, the position of the Shepherd was considered a great honour, in fact one of the highest other than the Pope. When the Era of Resonance was at an all-time high, there were many people who had the potential to become a shepherd or a squire and can attain the position. All those who became shepherds could do an adequate job and the land was almost completely blessed. Purification wasn’t a problem either since most of them were able to channel their power through Shepherd Sorey while he continued his long sleep to purify Maotelus.

It was a slightly different story when the job of purifying the land was complete and Sorey woke up. Resonance among humans decreased in exchange for a purified land: villages flourished, plants and animals grew uninhibited, and there was a sense of freshness and renewal in the air; humans also began to become more aware of the effects that usually only the seraphim could detect. As the world grew more and more bountiful, the telling of the legends of shepherds also grew more prominent and became more of a recent memory than a distant myth. The exchange of resonance for purification wasn’t nearly as painful in such a flourishing world, and many continued their pious reverence of the duties of the shepherd and of the seraphim.

As she ran alongside Guy and Anise through the hilly plains of Difland’s territory on an urgent mission to investigate the malevolence, Tear felt the exhilaration of her task, and the satisfaction that she was pursuing a worthwhile goal. For as long as she could remember, she had always admired the bravery and dignity of the shepherds who travelled the world, healing the sick, and enlightening the lost.

She had joined the Rolance Shrinechurch back as a child for two reasons: her brother was there, and it was also the first step to becoming a communicator with the seraphim. There were other reasons that she respected the institution for, including all the good they do for people and being one of the central foundations for authority. But above all, Tear continued to hold onto the small hope that she has always had in that she could be one of the few appointed to the shepherd position.

If she was honest with herself, she knew in very beginning of this journey that there was something special happening with this shepherd party and she knew she had to join them. Tear had said that she joined because their goal aligned with hers in investigating Van’s goals but as she continued to immerse herself in their travels, she never felt more fulfilled.

The three humans returned to the Falkewin hillside where the bridge that Jade broke before could be seen being repaired by a team of builders. The water seraph reappeared and instead of taking them across the bridge again, he led them up the small hills to the right.

Tear could clearly see in the distance a looming peak that must be Spiritcrest Mountain. It was an incredible sight even from a distance. The mountain looked like it touched the heavens.

But with every step they took to get closer, Tear started to feel a slight pressure on her chest. She hadn’t felt one like this since…

“Guy, my chest kinda hurts,” Anise complained. Tear remembered that their youngest member was only recently made a squire so she hasn’t experienced this kind of second-hand pain before.

Guy was slightly hunched over as well and clutching his chest, “It’s… I’m sensing something. A powerful domain is here.”

“This malevolent aura seems even stronger than the Hydra hellion,” said Jade. “Uh oh, I hope we aren’t too late.”

_You do not sound too concerned when you say that, Jade._ Natalia’s voice sounded out.

“Ah, well, the Guardian Seraph of Spiritcrest is-“

“Is what?” A voice floated over to them and the group looked up.

Up their path to the mountain, a woman stood in the middle of it holding a white-gold umbrella over her head. She was wearing a cream coloured dress decorated with orange ribbons and flowers that laced around her legs and arms, with large brown boots and gloves that complemented the muted colours of her outfit. Her hair was cut short like Natalia’s but was an even deeper blond but had the same bright orange tips at the end just before they reached her slim shoulders. The woman stared at them with an odd mixture of accusing and disinterested look in her blue eyes.

Tear thought she was a very pretty seraph with an unconventional but well-coordinated outfit. Almost like a fragile life-sized doll.

“Edna,” Jade said with a sigh, addressing the new seraph.

“Jade.” Edna responded curtly, “You’re late.”

“Seeing as how I’m no longer the Lord of Ladylake, I got here fast enough.” Jade replied.

Edna did not look impressed. She surveyed the four of them with intense scrutiny before continuing, “And you brought a shepherd party? What, are you here to ask me to join you as well?”

“No, no,” said Guy, holding up his palms in quick surrender, “We were told about the massive malevolence here and came right away.”

“So the goody-goody shepherd came to the rescue,” Edna said monotonously. She turned around and pulled down her umbrella, “Well then this way.”

“Umm Miss Edna,” said Tear, thinking she should try to change the subject, “How is this malevolence not affecting you?” It was thick and stifling and she couldn’t imagine any seraph being able to tolerate such conditions.

Edna turned around to stare at them for moment before continuing on. Tear suppressed a flinch, feeling like she may have insulted the seraph by mistake.

_She’s scary._

_That is not nice Luke!_

_I’m just saying it like it is!_

At the base of the mountain, Edna stopped walking and tilted her head to look at the mountain. The sky above the sharp peak was a swirling haze of ominous red and black-purple clouds. Further in, the domain intensified even more and it was a struggle for Guy to stay upright. He lifted his head just in time to see Edna eyeing him. He thought he imagined a flash of brief concern in her eyes before she turned around again, blocked by her umbrella.

Luke, Natalia, and Ion appeared to also get a better look at the mountain and to shoot concerned looks at their shepherd.

Edna spoke, “There is a powerful domain tainting the mountain. I haven’t felt one here this strong since… my brother was here.”

Jade said, “Your brother who became a dragon?” At the same time Guy asked, “How did this happen?”

There was a moment when they looked at each other in shock before the rest of the group yelped in unison, “A dragon?!”

Edna turned around and glared at them, “It’s not a real dragon. This thing is only a fake imitation. A real dragon would be impossible for you amateurs to deal with.”

“How are we supposed to purify something nearly as powerful as a dragon?” Natalia asked. Her voice was slightly shaky.

“It’s not even like a dragon. Not yet anyways. It’s a Dragonnewt, a warrior-dragon hybrid hellion,” Edna replied: “Lethal but not impossible for a shepherd’s party to deal with if you have a wind seraph. It’s just a little bit up the mountain so go on.” She waved carelessly at the mountain, “Go do your thing.”

“Wait, but who or what became such a strong hellion?” Luke asked, turning around while the rest of the group had begun the trek upwards.

“Defeat it and then I’ll tell you,” said Edna, turning her back to them. She stomped the ground and the rocks flipped her upwards into the air. The seraph sailed away on her umbrella without looking back.

Luke huffed and turned to Jade, “So you know her?”

“Of course I do, Spiritcrest Mountain is within Ladylake’s territory.” Jade replied, “That’s just who she is.”

“Is she… is she the Edna in the Chronicles?” Natalia asked as they continued up the winding path and rounded the next boulder.

“Oh, that Edna,” Jade said with a chuckle. “Yes, this Edna is Her Eminence.”

“Her Eminence?” Luke said, confused.

“That is what she prefers to be called. I call her Edna regardless.”

“She looks like she can kill you with one jab of her umbrella,” Anise said in hushed tones, despite the fact that Edna had gone.

“Luckily, I’m more resilient than an umbrella.”

“…You are a brave person, Jade.”

“Not so much brave as we have an understanding.”

“Which is what?” Tear asked. She was curious about Jade’s history with the Seraph Lord of Spiritcrest. They seemed to have clashing personalities with snark abound.

“If something happens to me, she has to take on the responsibility of blessing Ladylake. She hates that.”

Luke and Guy exchanged confused looks.

“But you’re not the Lord anymore,” Luke pressed.

“The deal still stands.”

The rest of the group looked confused but decided to drop the subject because the domain was intensifying. They were getting close.

Luke looked over to Guy, trying to see if the thicker malevolence was making things worse. Luckily, the shepherd didn’t seem to too badly off at the moment.

Natalia suddenly screeched to a halt and stopped everyone from going farther. She peeked around the boulder for a moment before whispering, “The Dragonnewt is right there.”

“Edna said it was weak against wind,” said Jade. “Do you have a plan Guy?”

“Yeah,” Guy said in a rush of breath. “Ion and I will armatize immediately. And… Tear, you and Natalia provide heal and support.”

“What about me?” Anise asked.

“Anise, that Dragon newt looks pretty fast on its hind legs so if it gets away from us, you intercept it from reaching the others. Use your wind style attacks to keep the assault going. Natalia, don’t hesitate to switch with Luke or Jade if you get overwhelmed.” Guy said, “Or armatize with Tear.” He added as an afterthought.

Everyone agreed that the plan was good and they prepared themselves to face the hellion. Ion summoned his staff while Natalia took out her knives. Anise and Tear checked their inventory for necessary healing items while Luke and Jade disappeared back into Guy.

“Ready?” Guy asked.

“Are you ready?” Anise countered back, “You didn’t look so good earlier.”

“I’m fine,” Guy replied, determined to stay fine through the thick malevolence bearing down on them.

“Yes, we’re ready,” Natalia answered.

They all charged in as the hellion roared and whipped out its sword and shield at them.

At the front, Guy called for Ion: “Lord of Wind!”

The wind armatus appeared in a flurry of blades and a rush of wind that pelted the dragon newt. The bipedal hellion recovered and swung at them with its sword. Guy swept swiftly to the side and launched a series of wind attack combos. Tear ran forward partway with Anise guarding her and cast her Invoke: Wind arte underneath the area to give Guy’s wind attacks a bigger boost. Natalia kept an eye on her party members and cast Barrier and Sharpness as support boosts and was ready to cast her healing artes at any moment.

The Dragon newt blocked Guy’s whirlwind and took a few steps back to avoid Guy’s dive. As the armatus recovered from the miss, the Dragon Newt began casting.

“Oh no!” Anise yelled, directing her giant doll to rush at the hellion to try and interrupt the casting but her attempt failed. Rocks emerged around the hellion and hovered around it protectively.

Guy stopped his charge, knowing that the rocks would smack him if he tried to attack in close range.

“Awaken the Earth! Air Pressure!” A voice called from behind Natalia.

Pillars of earth rose up around the hellion and compressed the air down on it, causing the floating rocks to also drop and crack into the ground.

“Now!” Edna yelled to Guy, and without hesitation, the wind armatus flew into the sky.

“Divine wings of the heavens, I beckon you!” Guy and Ion’s voice fused into one as they summoned their most powerful wind attack. A triangle of light formed around the Dragon Newt, trapping it there as the winds whipped about stronger and stronger. At Guy’s command, a storm of blades rained down and pelted the hellion.

“Sylphystia!” Guy and Ion screamed together, and the winds blowing within the triangular area exploded.

After the winds settled, Guy slowly floated to the ground and the hellion appeared to be on its knees from that massive attack.

“It’s still not defeated?” Guy yelled in shock, but before anyone could move, the hellion charged at them.

The earth rumbled and a large earth spike jutted out of the ground, bashing into the hellion and knocking him into the air. Edna opened her umbrella and the tip shot out a burst of white energy, making a direct hit on the dragon newt’s stomach. The blast destroyed the hellion and it disappeared.

The rest of the group stared at the space where the hellion used to be for a few shocked seconds before Guy rounded on Edna. “You destroyed the hellion, we could’ve purified it!” he accused.

“Calm down,” Edna said without blinking or flinching at the accusation. “That hellion wasn’t a corrupted anything.”

“Wait, it was just another dense mass of malevolence?” Natalia asked, remembering Jade saying something similar way back.

Edna cocked her head, “Another?”

* * *

“So let me get this straight: this Van guy has been going around recruiting seraphim, and if they refuse, he subdues them with an orb of what turned out to be condensed malevolence?” Edna said, summing it up after explanations were given by the whole group.

The group of humans and seraphim exchanged glances before Guy said, “Well he tried to do that to Jade and Luke, but Jade avoided it and it turned into a rather strong hellion.”

“Its strength was adequate,” Jade chimed in modestly.

After hearing that, Edna walked a few paces away from the group to a small shrine carved into the mountain wall. A few moments passed as she stared off at the shrine, as though deep in thought before she finally faced them again.

“There was a man here who asked me to join him,” she said.

“What?!” Luke and Natalia exclaimed at the same time.

“Was he the Rolance General Van?” Jade asked in fascination.

Edna shrugged, “I wouldn’t know. I don’t normally talk about or care about human matters.”

Ion stepped in, “I think it’s safe to say that based on what Edna has said confirms that the hellion was probably created by Van.”

Anise pouted, “And what’s wrong with us humans? Van is the scumbag, not us!”

Edna leveled an emotionless stare at her, “If you stick around as long as I have, you’ll find there are very few humans who can be trustworthy.”

“Very few? You sound like Asch…” Luke muttered. His eyes were glued to the ground and didn’t realize that Edna overheard.

“Humans who come to Spiritcrest always want something,” said Edna tonelessly, “They bring offerings because they want the blessing of the seraph. They come asking for me specifically because they want my help or my knowledge. There are very few who wanted to help me in return.”

Jade said dryly, “And yet you’re always asking for the Lord of the Land’s help.”

“Not my fault that Ladylake’s Lord is more efficient. My usual servant is not here to help and it’s not like asking a human would help. They’re mostly useless against the malevolence.”

Natalia looked confused, “A servant?” Who would be Edna’s servant?

“You’re welcome,” said Anise sarcastically, still bristling over the insults about humans.

Edna blinked at the young squire, “Who are you again?”

Tear grabbed onto Anise’s arm to prevent her from jumping the seraph.

Guy scratched his head sheepishly, “Well anyways, thank you for your help in getting rid of that hellion then, Edna.”

“It was in my home, of course I want to get rid of it,” said Edna, before jabbing her umbrella into the ground. “Who said you can call me so familiarly?”

“Anyways,” Jade interrupted, “Since Her Eminence is no longer in danger, we should be on our way to the next trial.”

They started walking away when Edna called, “Wait!” The group stopped and turned around to look at her. From further away, Edna looked shorter and younger. Her expression changed, as though inviting emotions revealed more of her than she would like: a lone woman on an isolated mountain.

The earth seraph hefted her parasol onto her shoulder, “I guess humans like you aren’t so bad. Thank you for helping to defend my home.”

Guy and Tear smiled and waved before they continued down the hill, dragging their youngest member along as they left Spiritcrest Mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skit #020: Earth Seraphim 
> 
> Natalia: M-Miss Edna! It is an honour to meet you.
> 
> Edna: Hm? Who are you?
> 
> Natalia: My name is Natalia
> 
> Edna: And who told you that you can address me so familiarly?
> 
> Natalia: Oh, I’m sorry Your Eminence…
> 
> Edna: Hn since you are an earth seraph, I suppose you get a pass.
> 
> Natalia: Really? Thank you Edna!
> 
> Edna: It’s Miss Edna
> 
> Natalia: Oh right.
> 
> Edna: Now come with me
> 
> Natalia: Huh?
> 
> Edna: We earth seraphim should stick together. Let me teach you a few things.
> 
> Natalia: Like new artes? That’s great!
> 
> Edna: Artes, dirty secrets, what’s the difference?
> 
> Natalia: Uh, great. 
> 
> Edna: Now you can give me your thanks.
> 
> Natalia: T-Thank you Miss Edna!
> 
> Edna: That’s a good girl.  
> \--
> 
> Skit #021: Anise Armatizing?!
> 
> Anise: Hey since I’m a squire now, can I armatize-
> 
> Ion: No.
> 
> Luke: Whoa! I haven’t heard Ion sound this insistent before
> 
> Anise: But Lord Ion, why not?
> 
> Ion: Because you still need to grow. The strain of armatizing would be too much on your developing body.
> 
> Anise: I’m old enough!
> 
> Luke: Even I can tell that you are young for a human, Anise
> 
> Anise: Hmph, but you still think I’m a beautiful lady right?
> 
> Ion: Ummm yes you are.
> 
> Luke: Yeah, sure.
> 
> Anise: Why does it feel like I cannot believe either of you?
> 
> Ion+Luke: *nervous laughter*


End file.
